To Live
by UnderTheSkiesDontLie
Summary: I didn't realize how much I meant to them until my life flashed before my eyes, hearing everyone shouting my name. "Stay with me!" He shouted. I can feel him pulling me by the bullet proof vest. I can taste the blood in my mouth. I always wanted to numb my feelings but I am close to death. I am scared of dying. Oh, God, I don't want to die.
1. Chapter 1: New World Order

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY TRANSFORMERS CHARACTERS, ONLY HASBRO DOES. ALL I OWN ARE MY OC'S AND MINOR OOC'S.

Chapter one: New World Order

"_Sometimes you gotta bleed to know that you're alive and have a soul but it takes someone to come around to show you how." – Tear in my heart; twenty-one pilots_

I love the night time.

Scratch that. I live for the night time.

It is night time already and I am outside, laying down on the cool tall grass gazing at the stars and staring at the moon. I live for the late summer nights when I can feel the season changing and the cool wind blowing. I can hear the crickets singing, wolves howling from afar even though the forest is located thousand miles away from where I live. I can hear the owls hooting somewhere in the trees. I stared at the big, bright moon as it shines down to the ground. I stared at the stars and watched as it changed colors got me wondering if they were actually stars or if they were spaceships.

Growing up, I always believed that we were not alone in this universe that there was something greater, bigger than us out there in the galaxy. I always thought that we were being watched by them probably observed of our way of living and judging us as we judged them. There were conspiracies about how they looked, what they travel in and evidence of aliens landing. However, if you were to ask a normal person how an alien looks like to them, he or she would respond with the following: green or grey, big heads, small or tall, skinny, long fingers, big black eyes, talking in foreign language and way advanced than us. If you were to ask me, I would say that I do not know. I don't know how an alien looks like because I have never seen one with my own eyes. We have been brainwashed with propaganda about the little green figures called aliens but, in the end, that information turned out to be false.

Aliens can take any shape or form. They can blend in like us and they can even _transform_. Those aliens are known as Cybertronians and there are two classes of Cybertronians: Autobots and Decepticons. Autobots are the good guys and the Decepticons are the bad guys. They invaded our planet earth about a decade ago, Autobots promised to leave our planet in peace once they have captured the Decepticons but the bad turned into worse. More of them kept on coming, cities getting destroyed, families being torn apart and losing our loved ones. Our race is almost extinct and because of that there was a new world order set up for the sake of our safety. We have curfews, soldiers heavily guarded at every corner, cameras everywhere, raids happening at random if you are found suspicious, cars being checked at every check-point to make sure it's not one of the Cybertronians. There is not one day when we don't hear from the news of the war that is raging on until recently when things have calmed down. People starting to assume that the Cybertronians probably are heading back to their native planet or made peace with our president, others are assuming the worst. Others are talking about something big will happen, something devastating that will terminate our planet.

We live without knowing anything, we live in fear whether if today is our last day or not.

I stared at the moon, reminding me of how small we are.

I stared at the moon wondering if the moon sees me. I wonder if the stars whisper to the moon about me, I wonder if the night sky is a metaphor for dark feelings. I always wondered why does one feel more vulnerable at night versus the day? Why do I feel dangerous at night and more kept to myself during the day? If only you knew how the stars and the moon make me feel whenever I look up at them.

I always dreamed of exploring the space but I too scared of stepping on other foreign land where I don't belong even though I always felt that I don't belong here. A drone passed by, lights flashing down at me making me wince and cover my eyes with my arm, groaning.

"Past Curfew. Proceed to your home environment at once." The robotic voice demanded. I was tempted to throw a rock at it but that will only get me in trouble and possibly jail time for wrecking a military grade gadget. I sighed and got up, dusting off my pants grabbing my sweater and my bag in the process.

"Proceed to your home environment at once." The drone trailed behind me, I raised my hands up in annoyance as it leveled with me, "I'm going, I'm going!" I replied. I knew it was going to follow me until I walked inside the house, it does that with anyone that doesn't follow orders.

I walked back inside the house without turning the lights on. I locked the door and took off my shoes, dropping my bag on the couch and walked upstairs. Everyone in the house was already asleep but me. I was tired but not sleepy yet, I always have a hard time to go to sleep. I passed my parents room and my brother's room, both doors closed. I walked all the way down the hall where my room was located and walked in. I closed the door behind me and let myself fall down on my messy bed, I haven't had the chance to clean up my room today. Did I mention that it's a mess in here? Clothes pilled up on a chair, my laptop on my desk with screen dark probably doesn't have battery juice, shoes at random places, my closet halfway open, books piled up at the corner of my desk. My room looks like it has been invaded by a teenager but I have been living with my parents ever since the last attack which was two years ago. My room hasn't changed before I moved out to go to college that I never got to finish, (partially I am kind of thankful for), my brother moved in with his wife as well. My parents and my brother thought it was best to stay together than being apart. I was fine being alone though but if you have all the government watching you at all point then you are really never alone. I rather have my parents invade my privacy instead.

Most of my friends have moved back with their parents' others stayed behind since their families are not close by. We can no longer travel by plane, if we want to travel it would have to be by car or by boats if you want to go to another country. The only planes you see in the sky or any plane crafts are from the government. It sucks how we are living, I miss how things used to be when we were able to do anything whenever, wherever. Being watched at all time and questioned what we are doing made me feel like I have never left my parent's. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents but sometimes they get too much and I need space to breathe on my own.

Some things don't have value either, for example, money is useless now. Cars are useless too. The economy is so bad, bad than the great depression. Anything with value is useless but whatever we have left is what we have to trade for food or clothes. We are allowed to have cell phones, laptops, anything with technologies but we are no longer to search the web. Social media doesn't exist anymore, the only thing that will keep us inform about the world is the radio, t.v., newspapers, or the soldiers in our area.

I felt a numbing, tingling sensation on my chest just thinking about our lifestyle and the lack of freedom. I get anxious when my mind is running, thinking about what will happen, will my family be okay? Will things go back to normal? It is stressing. I laid in my bed, trying to close my eyes and get some rest but I couldn't when I could see lights being shined through my windows every hour, hearing military vehicles tires hitting against the gravel. Any city, town, village you go to is a military base and where there is military base there is no rest, no silence. I miss the silence. I placed my headphones on each side of my ear and went through my playlist to play music.

I let the music soothe me, drifting me to sleep after a while. I would go crazy without music.

The following morning, I woke up at the usual time, at eight. Everyone has a job in this house, things that needs to get done before the end of the day. Mom was already up with my brother's wife, Betty. My mom and Betty are the first ones to be up to prepare breakfast and lunch for my dad and brother. Basically, wife's duties, I guess I got lucky on that end (ha!). Mom takes care of the house chores which is sweeping, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, washing dishes and such. Betty takes care of daily dinner, picking fresh vegetables in the garden attending farm animals. I take care of outside homes errands, dropping off mail, paying bills, store errands, washing clothes and such. My dad and my brother take care of mechanical issues, one of them work outside of home every other day. They thought it was best to have at least one male figure in the house just in case. Meaning, they have this mentality that us women can't take care of ourselves without them.

I walked down stairs, greeted by the freshly made pancakes, fried eggs and bacon. I can hear the kettle whistling indicating that the water is already ready for coffee or tea. Dad and my brother John were already eating breakfast, they are usually the first one to eat anyways.

"Good morning," I greeted with a yawn as I walked over the kettle and grabbing a mug from one of the wooden cabinets. The table was set in the middle of the kitchen, mom and Betty were going back and forth serving their significant other.

"Good morning, darling." Dad greeted with a smile.

"Damn, Laura. Did a bird nest on your hair?" My brother, John snickered at me. I know my hair was a mess but he loves to point it out. I only flipped him off and continued to make my coffee.

Betty had an apron around her waist, stained with jelly and flour. She had a yellow top on, her hair tied up into a clean bun. My sister in law is on the chubby side, my dad used to joke that my brother loves chubby girls because they are always full of love. Betty was sweet though, loving and caring. I don't know what she saw in my brother since he's always quiet, serious even though he can be a jokester and playful at a times. I admired them though, he was her high school sweetheart then married two years after my brother graduated from college. I watched her serve my brother more bacon and kissing him on the top of his head, hearing my brother thanking her softly. I smiled sadly, wondering when will I find someone with great love like them.

"Are you going to eat too?" Mom asked as she prepared a plate for herself. I blew the steam off my coffee before I took a sip, "I'm not really hungry."

I told her. I can feel my dad's eyes on me, "You have to eat something, Laura. Look at you all skinny and those dark circles around your eyes." He pointed out, "You need nutrition." I hated when he pointed out my flaws. I know I am skinny but not to the extreme and I eat whenever I get hungry and those dark circles around my eyes are due to lack of sleep.

But just for the sake of my mom, I pulled a chair out and placed a slice of pancake on my empty plate and grabbed the bottle of syrup. I cut a piece and placed it on my mouth, forcing a smile at my dad. I felt like a child even though I am only twenty-three.

"Here, have some bacon." He placed his left over on my plate. I am not really big on eating meat, I eat meat on occasions. But if I were to choose right now, I prefer chicken. My dad's phone went off, like it usually does. Probably customers waiting on him. He got up and left the kitchen to attend the call. My brother finished his breakfast and Betty handed him his packed lunch before he headed out to work. Mom sat across from me and Betty took my brothers seat, starting to eat their breakfast as they went over tonight's dinner plan. I felt like an outcast, I didn't know what to talk about with them so I just sat there eating my breakfast silently as I listened to their conversation.

After they finished, Betty left to get ready and start with her rounds. I stayed behind with my mom, playing around with my half-eaten food.

"Mrs. Kristen called earlier this morning," mom announced while she picked up the empty plates. I took a sip of, "Oh yeah?" I knew she was trying to make a conversation between us to lift them mood up. I love my mom, I trust her with my life. I can tell her just about anything without feeling judged.

"Yes, she wanted to say thank you for helping her for pinning up her goats." Mrs. Kristen is our neighbor from across the street. She's old, probably in her late eighties and lives on her own. Her husband died of heart attack a year ago and her only son is across the country with his family. We encouraged her to go with him but she prefers to stay here where she grew up and met her husband. I always like to help others whenever I can. Speaking of which, I stood up and handed her my now empty plate.

"I need to get ready now." I told her, and she nodded. I kissed her on her cheek, "Thank you." I told her. My mom was the sweetest but also very straightforward with you when you ask for her opinion, just like my dad however he tells you things as it is. But unlike my mom, dad was hard on us. He wasn't an affectionate man, hated to see us cry and made us wash our faces. Told my brother and I that crying won't get us anywhere in life. Our parents were strict, we had curfews but I felt that my father gave my brother more liberty than me. I never had a sleep over because my parents didn't trust other parents, if I ever wanted to go to a sleep over, they would suggest to invite my friends over instead. We were never allowed to walk alone to and from school, my mom used to drop us off and pick us until towards my senior year she trusted us and took the bus. My parents' siblings are close to us due to family issues so we never talk about them either.

I loved school and my parents praised me for that and pushed me that I should be someone greater than them. They pushed me that I should be someone of importance and not depend on anyone but I never knew what or who I wanted to be. They don't know the many times that I changed my major because I was giving up when my grades were dropping. I am not talented or smart. I lose motivation when I used to tell others my dreams and they shut me down by telling me that the career is useless. Maybe college isn't for me. I know there's something out there for me but most certainly college is not one of them.

"I left you a list of things we need for this week." Mom pointed at the stainless-steel fridge. I went over and snatched it, glimpsing through the list. It seems like it was an easy day for me, I might have a chance to arrange my room tonight.

I went back upstairs to change, putting on a pair of black leggings, a checkered button-down flannel and pair of brown combat boots. I heard my phone ring once, alerting me of a text message. I grabbed my phone and pressed the screen. A message from my childhood best friend, Emma.

"Ready when you are." It read. I replied back with 'Be there in five.' When in reality it would be longer than that. I still need to do my hair and apply at least a little bit of makeup. I have to cover my dark spots that I have on my face and look awake not like a zombie. I pulled my hair up into a messy pony tail and placed a headband over to pull back my now long bangs.

I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs, bidding goodbye however heard me. I walked out and from the corner and walked towards my old beat-up pick-up truck, jumping in and inserting the key on the ignition, hearing it roar to life. In front of me, the wide garage door was open, my dad inside working on his truck with his its hood up. He looked up and I waved him bye before I backed out from the long drive way.

Thankfully my brother left the gates open, sometimes he forgets to leave it open when he goes out. I left a trail of dust of gravel behind me as I drove in the single lane and emerging to the main street that had regular asphalt. Everywhere you turn you see people walking around, scavenging, buying, trading, fixing. Drones flying everywhere, military men walking around with weapons in hand or backs. This is something you usually see in the movies. Its saddening seeing it in real life, and living in it. Kids were playing around, kicking a ball around, riding bikes, playing tags. At least their childhood is still intact.

From the rearview mirror I could see multiple vehicles approaching fast. Two black hummer looking vehicle I believe they are called Humvee and a black GMC Topkick. They came fast and swerved beside me, leaving me no chance to stop or move over for them to pass. Those vehicles sped by fast leaving a trail of dust behind me. I coughed uncontrollably when I inhaled the dust, I had the window open.

"Fucking assholes." I coughed in between. I wanted to flip them off so bad but that would only piss them off and probably get hunt down for insulting them. Once I composed myself, I went back on the road and towards my best friend house. The drive wasn't that far either, the road was almost empty. I pulled up outside of Emma's gated property, honking once to let her know that I was here. Most homes in this town were gated to prevent people from breaking in and stealing. This used to be a safe neighborhood but after the recent attack it has caused chaos.

Emma's golden retriever followed her all the way to the main entrance. She bent down to pet him softly on his head before closing the gate behind her and jumping inside the cabin.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile. Emma was pretty, she was probably an inch taller than me, shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. She was also fit due to all the years in the cheerleading team back since preschool all the way to college. All eyes were always on her, she was hard to miss. With those rosy cheeks, freckled nose, and red lips who wouldn't want to be her friend?

I smiled back at my only best friend, "Hey you."

"Where are we going?" She asked when she pulled the sun visor down to fix her perfect hair. I tossed the list on her lap, "on a grocery run and junk yard."

"Well, good thing I came cause I'm running out of pads." She commented and I snickered at her. Emma is not ashamed to be brutally honest with anyone and sometimes she can cause an embarrassing moment but that's because she is really free spirited and doesn't care what other people think of what she does or say. I wish I was more like her, but I always worry about what other people think of me.

On our way to the store we saw more military vehicles rushing by in a hurry. People would stop what they were doing and see them drive by to see what the commotion was about, "I wonder what's going on?" I thought out loud.

Emma looked at me, furrowing her eyebrows, "Didn't you hear on the news?" she pointed at the radio. I shook my head no, "Do I look like I follow the news?" I replied sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at me, "Apparently they found some toxic waste few miles outside of the town. They think that it's probably some dumping site that the Decepticons used."

"Toxic waste? Did they say exactly what it was?" Emma shrugged her shoulder, "We didn't get enough details." I hoped its not bad enough to the point of contaminating the water that we drink. If it's not one thing, it's another.

I pulled up at the small convenience store, parking my truck closest to the entrance. Emma grabbed the cart and jumped inside of it, her legs dangling over, "At once, peasant!" she shouted at me, making me laugh, "Yes, queen Emma!" and pushed the cart with her in it.

This brought back high school memories when we shopped at this store to get some snacks and watch movies at my place. We walked down at each isle to get what we needed, filling up the cart to the point where Emma to get off when it started to get full.

"What are you doing tonight? I'm craving for pizza and checking out some military men." She said as one walked down the aisle. He heard her and she knew that. He turned around and she winked at him in a flirtatious way I shook my head and laughed at her.

"I wanted to organize my room." I told her as I watched her reaching for a bag of potato chips and opening it, "That's boring. Let's go eat pizza at Rico's!" Emma popped a chip in her mouth, "I heard that's where all the military guys go before curfew hours."

I stopped to grab salt and pepper then turned towards her, "Okay, first you need to pay for that." I snatched the bag of chips away from her and placed it in the car, "Secondly, why do I want to check them out when we see them every day? They're scary and intimidating."

Emma just loves rolling her eyes at me, "Oh, Laura. Such a saint." She commented, "You're only saying that because you're afraid to ask permission."

"I'm twenty-three." I replied annoyingly, "Exactly." She winked at me. I know she was just teasing me and trying to get me out. I thought about it, I mean what do I got to lose? I haven't eaten pizza in a while, and I do miss going out to have fun.

"Should we go after the junk yard?" I asked. Emma jumped up and down excitedly, "Yes!"

We took our time to do our grocery shopping and look for mechanical parts at the junk yard but most of the things that my dad listed weren't available at the moment. It took us almost the whole evening to look for them until we gave up once we were starving. The sun was starting to set already, and we drove to Rico's. Emma wasn't joking when she said that the military goes go here to eat. We had a hard time to find a parking spot then walked in at the joint.

The atmosphere was inviting, loud music playing in the background. Servers and bussers in a hurry attending their customers. Group of friends standing around the pool table playing, eating and or drinking. The bar was full too and more people were still coming in. Emma pulled me by the sleeve, indicating for me to follow her to the empty booth that she found. We sat down and soon enough a server came by handing us a menu and glasses of water.

"Should we just get fourteen-inch pizza for the both of us?" I suggested.

"And some wings!" She added. I agreed even though I knew I wasn't going to eat wings. The server came by to take our orders then left again.

"We should come here more often." Emma suggested as she scanned around the place, smiling excitedly. This was heaven on earth for her when all men are in the room and for her to chose one to flirt with. Whenever I locked eyes with anyone, I always smile at them then look away quickly before making things awkward. I suck at flirting or starting conversations, hell, I can't even tell when someone is flirting with me. Don't get me wrong, I have been in a relationship in the past, but it has been a while since I got with someone.

Emma leaned in, "Someone is staring at you." She whispered in a sing-song voice.

"Who?" I looked to see what she meant and caught a pair of eyes locking at my brown ones. He smiled at me before a waitress got in his way. I blushed and looked away feeling a little embarrassed, "Isn't he cute?" Emma awed. He did look handsome, but he was probably older than us, he had light brown hair and some gray ones taking over.

"He's probably being nice." I said, "Oh my god, Laura."

"What?" I shrugged my shoulder as I sipped my water, "Everyone is smiling at us." I pointed out. Our server came back with our food, my mouth watered when I noticed how cheesy it was and how good it looked. I grabbed a slice and took a bite in my mouth, my eyeballs almost turning to the back of my head and my tongue burning at the delicious taste.

"Oh my god, I forgot how good this place was." I almost cried out in happiness, "We should definitely come here more often."

"Say no more." Emma replied as she took a big bite of her pizza. I kept on eating to the point I felt stuffed, our server kept on coming with drinks and asking if everything was okay. Towards the end of our meal, the same server came by with a beer bottle in his hand placing it in front of me.

"Oh no, I didn't order this." I told him quickly. Our server took our empty plates and drinks, "It's from the gentlemen." He pointed at the man that Emma pointed out earlier. I looked back again, seeing him talking to the guy next to him then looking at me, lifting his own drink at me and gave a simple nod. I wasn't sure whether to feel creeped out or…

"Thank you." I told our server then looked at Emma, almost sinking in my seat, "I don't even drink." I hissed at her nervously.

"Oh, stop being a baby and take a sip." She wined and chuckled. It was a beer, corona to be exact. I have had this drink before, but I wasn't a big fan of alcoholic beverages or the bitter taste. However, just to not be rude I accepted. It was flattering but it was a little weird. I wasn't used to having someone hit on me. Is this world okay? Of course not.

"You should ask for his number." Emma dared, grinning at me.

"I'm not going to ask for his number," I told her.

"Do it or I'll do it for you." She dared. I said no but that didn't stop her. She didn't get up to get his number though, but I can tell that she was planning something just to get back at me. I finished my bottle after a while, feeling a tad buzzed but fine enough to drive. I can hear the drones outside the dine announcing curfew hours. I groaned and got up, Emma following behind. My eyes felt heavy, I think I was having food coma from how much I ate tonight. We passed by where the man was sitting but I couldn't see him clearly, two more men were standing by him laughing. I knew he wasn't from around here and he was from the N.E.S.T. team by the patch stitched on his sleeve that I saw on his shoulder.

As we walked out, few men cat-called and whistled at us. I ignored them and so did Emma. We walked towards my truck and started to drive back to her place to drop her off. I was going to be five minutes late home, hopefully I can beat one of the drones before I get caught.

The roads were dark, and I had to set the headlight beams on high to see. I arrived at Emma's home and she got off, "Do you want to stay? You can stay so you won't get in trouble." She offered kindly, I shook my head, "I'll make it." I told her.

"Okay, well text me when you get home." Then closed the door. I waited until she got inside the house then left her area hitting the main road again. I debated whether to take the short cut home and beat it by two minutes or just take the long way home. My eyes wanted to close already, and curfew was in less than five minutes now.

I decided to take the short cut. Boy, did I start regretting that. The short cut that I took had no streetlights and I was already halfway through. A light lit up on my dashboard warning me about the engine before it completely shut down.

"No, no, no, no." I groaned. I stepped on the break pedal and ignite the engine, but it was no use. I let my truck rest for a minute before trying again and nada. Today of all days, my truck decides to die in the middle of nowhere. I grabbed my phone from my bag and got off my truck, walking in front to pop the hood up. Smoke came out immediately, making me step back right away, coughing once again. Somehow the engine over heated and it'll take a while to cool down. I had to call my dad or my brother to come pick me up but when I pressed their names on my screen the call would drop.

No freaking signals. I wanted to pull my hairs out from my head. I had two choices, walk home which was about ten minutes away by walking and getting risked of being caught or stay in my truck and still get caught. I decided to just walk home, I was past the curfew either way. I left the hood open but locked the door of my truck. I was a little scared walking alone in the dark, but I had no other choice.

What's the worst thing that can happen?

It wasn't long until I saw bright lights flashing from behind me. I stood back, placing my hand over my eyes to see clearly who or what it was. The engine sounded loud and when it got closer, it stopped right in front of. It was the black GMC Topkick that I saw earlier today that sped by past me. I heard the door open from the driver side and two feet hitting against the ground, "Are you lost?" A deep voice asked. I couldn't make out the person face to see who it was, "No, my truck stopped working. So, I had no choice but to walk." The man was tall, wearing black uniform and when he got closer, I recognized him.

The same man from the bar that gave me beer.

"It's dangerous for you to be out here alone, especially in the dark." He said, "I know, I know." I replied nervously, "I would have called my father or my brother, but I have no signal." I pointed at my phone. He gave me a stern look whether to believe me or not then he signaled me with his finger to follow him, "Come, I'll drive you home."

"You don't have too; I don't live that far." I told him. The man was by the front passenger, holding the door open for me, "I want too. Plus, protocols. C'mon." He pointed with his head. I couldn't say no to him, by law I had to listen to him just like with a cop. I sighed, why do I have feeling that my parents are going to kill me for this?

"Okay." I answered and took his offer. The man held the door open for me while I got in and adjusted. Shortly after he was by the driver side, putting on his seatbelt and instructed me to put mine on as well.

"So, where to?" He asked, "Just right up the hill." I instructed. The ride wasn't long, in fact it was just a two-minute ride. His truck looked very spacious and spotless. I noticed the Autobot insignia on the dashboard and on the steering wheel.

"I'm William Lennox, by the way." He introduced, "But my friends call me Will, or Lennox."

I smiled nervously at him. I don't if he was making me nervous because of what he does or because he was in fact good looking apart of being kind, "I'm Laura." I replied.

"Just Laura?" He asked, probably asking for more details. I only nodded, "Just Laura." I said. I didn't know him but I'm pretty sure he can get my full information with just one phone call. Will pulled up in front of my property, I can already see my parents and my brother outside by the porch.

I mentally groaned. I got off his truck and he followed behind me. I didn't want him to follow me all the way inside and watch my parents overreact, "Thank you for the ride." I told him.

"Any time." He smiled down at me.

"Laura! You're okay!" I could hear my mom voice filled with worry, "Where have you been? We have been calling you."

"Is she in trouble, sir?" My dad asked Lennox. I felt bothered that my dad assumed that I would be in some kind of trouble. Mom let go, my brother stood by my dad and Lennox, "No, she's not. I just saw her walking in the dark, assuming she was lost."

"My truck broke down." I cut him off before he could say anything more. I can hear my mom hiss at my dad, "Ya vez, Joe! I told you that truck is useless!" Mom nagged, "Nothing but trouble."

"I'll go check it out tomorrow." My brother assured Lennox. Not that he cared or anything.

My dad placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into an awkward hug, "Thank you, Sir. For bringing my daughter." My dad was grateful.

"Any time." Lennox looked at me with a kind smile. My brother led him out of the property then we all headed back inside the house. Fortunately, my parents didn't fuss about my whereabouts, but I could still hear my mom nagging to my dad about my truck. Hopefully it's fixable and nothing too serious. My truck is my only transportation and I would hate to borrow one of my family members truck.

Hello Guys! Thank you for reading my first chapter!

I wanted to do something different this time around, to write a fanfict about Lennox and my character. There's not really much about him out there and I really admire his character, so I took this opportunity to start. Also, there will be few Spanish phrases thrown in future chapters, with that said, at the end of every chapter I will translate those phrases.

Of course, as always, things will start out slow as I build up my characters and plotting. I have no specific time frame where this story takes place, I am aiming little later after the Last Knight. Lastly, I will be reminding y'all for any future trigger warnings. Laura has few issues with herself and the world around her, starting from home and where she belongs. I feel with Lennox around will help her to break that shell that she has created and make her realize that the world isn't so bad after all. Even if it may end at some point, there is always something or someone to live for.


	2. Chapter 2: High Hopes

Welcome back friends!

Here is chapter two:

P.S. from the last chapter there was a Spanish phrase: Ya vez- you see!

Enjoy loves!

-B

Chapter two: High Hopes

"Got so much to lose, got so much to prove. God, don't let me lose my mind." – Trouble; Cage the Elephant

The following morning, I went with my brother to pick up my truck. We took the back-road alley instead of around the whole block. John had his windows down, a cigarette in between his thin lips and listening to music. I watched him closely how he looked carefree, unbothered how our life has changed. John is younger than me by a year and a half but with his thick black beard and mustache, he looks older than way. His skin was oily and sweaty from the sun, his white t-shirt stained in oil and dirt, his flannel had random holes and patches that were getting un-stitched from the countless of times Betty patching it up. John had a pair of blue dickie pants on, cowboy boots, the legs of his pants halfway tucked in lazily. My brother did look tired, he yawned without letting go of his cigarette picking up his favorite can of coke.

"Isn't it too early to drink coke?" I asked him. He looked at me with his small brown eyes, "I'm thirsty." He answered bluntly. I scoffed, "Drink water then."

"Do you have water?" John eyed at me, knowingly what I will answer.

"No." I answered, and he smirked, "Okay then." There was an awkward silence between us. It has always been like that. Well, not always. When we were younger, we used to get along just fine, argue, fight and make each other cry but once when we were teenagers, we went our separate ways and things got quiet between us. The only times we used to bond was during dinner time or car rides. I'm protective of my brother, I always stood up for him whenever we get into family discussion or when he used to get picked on in school, even then though, it's just awkward between us.

John parked in front of my truck. The hood was still propped up and it was no longer releasing smoke like last night. My brother got off the truck first, "Get me my tool-box." He instructed and I nodded. I went back to his truck bed, climbing up to retrieve his toolbox when I heard him cuss out. I looked up, "What's wrong?"

"The engine is not in here." He pointed inside. I can feel my blood running hot, my eyes widened, "What? What do you mean it's not there anymore?"

"It's not inside anymore, Laura." John pointed angrily, almost looking like our dad when he gets angry easily. I jumped down from the trucks bed and looked inside of the hood. My blood boiled when there was a big hole with no engine.

"Great, just great." I fumed, kicking at the tires angrily. Who could have stolen the engine? I was too angry right now, so angry that I felt motivated to hunt down those low lives that stole my engine.

"It's okay," my brother tried to cheer me up, "It was bound to happen." I glared at him and he raised his hands up in defense, "You knew that your truck was just a piece of crap. You always had issues with it."

"That truck got me to where I needed to be." I exclaimed.

"Well, you can use my truck if you need to go out."

I shook my head no, "I'm not going to do that. How will you get to work?" he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly, "I can get one of my boys to pick me up." Does he always have a solution for everything? I turned down his offer, I couldn't take his truck. I wanted mine, I had my old rusty red, beat up Chevy since my junior year in high school. Yeah, it had its downfall, but it still worked.

John walked back to his truck, getting in, "Come on. Let's go back home." I didn't want to leave my truck alone. I didn't want to give up on him just yet, I still have hope that it'll work if I can get my hands on a new engine. I just need to find an exact one at the junk yard.

I got inside of the cabin, didn't bother to buckle up as my brother drove home. We didn't say a word to each other or what I was planning to do. When we got back home, I stormed inside the house, straight to kitchen and grabbed my mom's car keys, "I need your car." I told her and didn't wait for her response. I walked back outside unlocking mom's Camry.

I could hear my dad shouting, asking where I was going but I just ignored him and drove straight to the junk yard. We only had one junk yard at our hometown, the only junk yard owned by Ross. The drive wasn't too far since he was just at the other side of the town. On my way there, my eyes scanned at every car and fenceless yard for my engine. As if whoever stole it would just leave in exposed to everyone else.

I pulled up at Ross parking lot, jumping down. Walking inside I saw his youngest daughter whom was probably around twelve or thirteen years old. She had dirty blond hair, wearing a jean jumper with rainbow t-shirt underneath. Her skin was filthy probably from playing in the dirt. Ross's daughter, Abie, looked up from her book that she was currently reading, smiling, "Hiya, Laura!" She greeted excitedly.

"Hey Abie. Is your dad around?" I asked, looking for him. His office was empty, and she was the only one here in the main lobby. She shook her head, "He's outside, fixing a car." She pointed at the garage next to the lobby. I thanked her before I walked back outside in the gleaming sun.

I can feel a sweat drop forming at the corner of my forehead, I can tell that today was going to a be a very hot day. I saw Ross's lower half of his body sticking out from underneath a black van that he was currently working on (or probably tearing apart).

"Hey Ross." I called out, standing next to the said van. Ross slid back out with ease, pushing up his protective goggles, "Hey, Laura. What brings you by?" He got up, grabbing a blue rag from the floor, "Your dad needs something?"

Shook my head, "Actually, I need something. Maybe you can help me."

He shrugged his shoulder, "Sure, what is it?"

I started to explain him the situation and what I was looking for. Ross sighed, looking stressed as he looked at his big junk yard filled with cars and auto parts, "We have engines but not what you're looking for. Any engines we have left over are for smaller cars." Most people in this town drive trucks, I was disappointed in the fact that I won't find anything.

"You don't mind if I dig around?" I asked, feeling desperate.

"Go ahead, but you'll just waste time." He's probably right but I wasn't about to give up.

I went towards the back of the junk yard and started to dig at random piles. I didn't pick up anything that felt heavy to me and just stuck lifting smaller auto parts. I spent hours in here, picking and searching. My arms started to ache, and my feet were hurting from standing for long hours. My back felt sweaty from this intense heat and I just felt completely filthy. I was getting a headache since I haven't eaten since the morning. I sat on top of a random pile and sighed in frustration, Ross was right, I only wasted my time in finding nothing. I don't have enough money to get a new car and my old truck probably did not have much value without the engine. I wanted to cry in anger and frustration mentally cussing at this new world order. I did not want to rely on others to give me a lift whenever I needed one. I finally just gave up and went back to my mom's Camry, slamming the door behind me.

I watched military men walking around, drones flying by as they monitor us. My hands clenched around the steering wheel, feeling anger cursing in my veins until I let go and started to punch the steering wheel, screaming and crying. I wish I could escape this place, be somewhere else where I know eyes aren't always on me. A place where there is danger, a place where I can have my freedom and my own car. I miss the city life; I miss staying up late studying for a big test or going out with groups of friends. I miss traveling.

When I finished letting out my rage, I turned the car on. I didn't want to go home just yet but where else could I go? I needed distraction, I wanted to be somewhere where I won't hear drones approaching, people talking, engines roaring.

I pulled out from Ross's junk yard. I stared down the road with my foot pressing on the break pedal, I could just go home and grief of my truck or I could just drive around to find a new quiet spot to let my mind relax. I really wanted to be away from everyone and for the voices to quiet down, I wanted a place where there's at least not one drone invading the sky or annoying military men watching you at every second.

I stared down the gravel road and the only thing you can see in sight is the forest. I need to hear birds chirp again, insects buzzing around, I need something related to the nature. That is what I want, nature.

I pressed on the gas pedal, slowly, getting butterflies in my stomach as if it were telling me to just go home but my mind said no. A gut feeling as if it was forbitten to go to the forest only because I _had_ to be home before curfew, because we are all being timed and accounted for. Tonight, I don't want to be timed or accounted for, I wanted to be alone.

I drove straight, not stopping at all and not paying attention to signs to turn around. The good girl in me telling me that it's not worth going to the forest alone, to not break the rules but the other me just says "screw this". I parked beside the road, turning off the car. It's almost close to nighttime, the sun was already setting which only meant that I have a little time for myself to enjoy the nature in the forest.

What could possibly go wrong this time, right?

I closed the door behind me and stared at the green forest. Logs fallen, crickets singing, the buzzing sound that you hear made by the beating of the mosquitoes' wings; life inside the forest was inviting. It was cool already now that the summer season is almost over. I stepped a foot inside the forest before I made myself all the way in, instinctively scanning for any sign of danger but didn't see anything. I gave a long sigh when I was all the way. I didn't have direction to where exactly I was going but just walked straight, jumping over thick logs, swapping away bugs from invading my face and pushing leaves away. I walked straight in and did not stop until I felt that I was completely alone from everyone.

I stopped walking when I felt that I was too far away from the road. I was a little nervous being in here alone, but I wasn't going to let that stop me to enjoy the moment. I reached up to a lake that I did not know that we had. It was almost dried up from the lack of rain we had this season. I sat on a log close to the banks, sipping up my sweater as I shuddered of cold. I looked around in the sky, out of habit, and for once I didn't see a black drone or hear the buzzing noise either. Not a sight of human around either, just wilderness surrounding me.

Being alone in the quiet can be soothing to some but for me, it was the time where my mind started to overwork itself. A lot of what if's, what to do, where to go and a lot of but's. What if I just leave here? But, where would I go? Where to get money? How can I live a normal life? But I need to stay here to help my parents. Being alone may not do good for me cause, what if I regret it? I want to find myself in this whole new world order mess.

I really don't know what to do with my life or find out what I am good at. I started to play with my hair, pulling hair out as I was overthinking. That was one of my many bad habits; grabbing a grasp full of hair, pulling them until they get lose or damaging the ends. I stayed like this, pulling my hair until I go bald. Maybe.

I stared at the waterless lake, noticing the crescent moon reflecting on the lake. There was something twinkling in the water and at first, I didn't think much of it other than maybe it was the stars reflection until I realized that the stars don't glow in the shade of dark purple. There was something glowing under the water and I started to get curious to see what it was. I got up and walked slowly to the banks, grabbing a stick on the way there, squatting down at the edge. There were little tadpoles swimming in groups until they separated when I placed the stick inside the water to reach whatever it was glowing.

The moon was helpful enough to see what it was; the dark purple light that was emitting from the water felt hard when I poked it with the stick. I pushed the sleeves up to my elbow and assumed that it wasn't dangerous at the touch shuddering when I placed my hand inside the water reaching for the glowing orbs.

When I pulled out, I held four purple crystals that were radiating light in my hand. They were about the size of my middle finger and light weight. What on earth are these? I grabbed one, standing up and pulling the crystal close to my eyesight. They were beautiful. My ears perked when I heard twigs and leaves cracking in the background, right away setting the crystals in my pocket. My eyes scanned around and didn't see anything until a small dark figure coming out from a tree. I nearly pissed myself when I realized that it was just a squirrel running around. I turned back pulling out one of the crystals, ignoring the noise from the background. I studied the crystal, played around with it just to see if it was breakable but it was sturdy. However, I did see symbols carved in it. I couldn't make out the language, they almost looked Chinese, but I knew it wasn't their language.

A chill ran down my spine when I felt someone breathing heavily behind my neck.

"That does not belong to you, fleshling." A deep voice said angrily from behind me. The hairs on my arms were standing up, I gulped as I turned around slowly and saw a tall man with broad shoulders, dark tousled hair and red glowing eyes. He looked menacing, intimidating and worst of all dangerous.

My body froze but my heart was beating fast. I wanted to say something, but it felt like my mouth was shut and sealed with glue. However, I pulled my hand back slowly to hide the crystal that I had even though he was looking right at it.

"Give it to me." He demanded. I took a step back as he took a step closer to me, shaking my head no, "W-why should I give it to you?" I stuttered. My jaw shaking as if I was cold, but I was scared shitless. He's not human, human don't have red glowing eyes and creep up on you. Well, some humans are creepy, but they don't have glowing eyes.

"I'll spare your life if you hand over what belongs to me." He lied and he knows that I know that it was a lie. A smile creeped on his thin lips, testing me just to see if I would give it up or be stupid enough to keep it. From behind him, I could hear loud engines roaring through the forest. He looked behind, his smile fading and getting angry already.

"Give it, insect." He roared impatiently. These crystals were obviously important for him and possibly for the wrong reason. If I give him the crystals what are the chances of him or his friends causing more casualties? I can prevent that.

I shook my head, "No." I almost whispered when I tried to sound firm with my choice of word. He looked at me with wide eyes, surprised but annoyed.

"Oh, you are going to wish that you never said that." He warned grabbing me by my arms, his hands tightening around them hard.

"Megatron!" Another voice shouted. Megatron was the man after these crystals, why did his name sound familiar. Megatron grinned, showing off his teeth as he turned his head to the side to see the men behind us, "Optimus."

"Let the woman go." Optimus demanded and Megatron just laughed as we turned around, wrapping an arm around my chest tightly, "Now, why would I do that?"

Optimus had the N.E.S.T. Team with him, one face looking familiar to me.

Lennox.

He had his weapon pointing at us, looking up away from it to look at me then whispering to the man next to him. He recognized me.

"Because she is innocent. Megatron." Optimus replied as he tried to take a step forward but Megatron only took another step back placing a hand around my neck, "She has what belongs to me."

I tried to gulp and closed my eyes, God, why do I have the worst luck ever? A group of men had their weapons pointing at us even though the target was Megatron. I can feel his body shaking behind me, laughing at the team while his grip tightened by the second.

Aside the N.E.S.T. Team, there were robotic beings transformed into alt-modes with their weapons ready as well. This was a nightmare and the worst part was that I was awake.

"You know very well that you cannot have dark energon." Optimus reminded him, taking another step forward with his hand up, "Not for the reason that you want it for."

"You are a fool, Optimus Prime. You have become like these useless humans, caring too much." Megatron told him, "And because of that, you will see them die by your feet every time you deny me."

That is when I realized who Megatron is. The leader of Decepticons who considers himself as a God and punishing everyone else who stands in his way. Megatron is the one that caused countless of mass destruction and deaths. Now, I am in the hands of death himself only because I did not want to hand over the crystals. Maybe this was good for me, saving everyone else.

Megatron new he had weapons pointed at him, "Shoot at me and she'll die." He threatened. Optimus looked behind and signaled them to lower their weapons down.

"This is your last chance, girl. Give me the crystals." Megatron warned. My hands trembled when I reached inside my pockets, holding them tight. I can't give it to him. I felt as if everyone was depending on me to not give those crystals to the wrong hands. I didn't want to die either, I am scared of death even though there was not much to live for. I had no other option.

"No." I told him again.

"Pathetic." He spat as he placed his big calloused hands around my neck ready to snap me until we heard a loud shot pain radiating from my lower abdomen.

I got shot.

My hands automatically covered my wound as soon Megatron let go of, fleeing away from the scene. I looked down at my injury just to see how bad it was, feeling weak by the second. My hands were covered in blood and I was feeling lightheaded as I fell to the cold ground.

So, this is what it feels like dying.

The ground beneath me was shaking as I heard more gun shot emitting through the empty air. I was having a hard time to breath, staring at the dark sky seeing double as everything else moved slowly. It was cold too, too cold and I was bleeding out. I can hear my name echoing as someone hovered over me lifting my head up to their lap. I started to cough blood and the more I coughed the worse it hurt around my abdomen. It felt as if it were on fire.

"Stay with me." Lennox demanded, trying to sound as calm as he could, "Put pressure there." He pointed at my abdomen as he lifted me. I felt the more he moved me the more I was bleeding, and I was too weak to put pressure on myself.

"I'm…going…to…die." I breathed in between. Lennox looked down at me, furrowing his eyebrows at me, "No you're not going to die, Laura. Not tonight." I wanted to laugh at him at how he sounded to sure. What was the point in lying when my situation was bad?

I coughed and my body shivered. I don't know where we were heading but it felt like forever. My eyes felt heavy, I wanted to close my eyes so bad but every time I did that, he would shake me up to stay awake. I haven't realized at what point we made it inside the ambulance.

Lennox placed me on the stretcher while another man appeared to work on me, "Primus, she is losing a lot of blood." The medic announced as he placed gauges over it to stop the bleeding, then looked at Lennox, "She won't make it."

"She will make it." Lennox half snapped at him, "You have to make sure of that, Ratchet." Again, with the lying. I like Ratchet, he was being honest about my state.

Tonight, is going to be my last night on earth, I might as well let my parents know. Weakly, I grabbed Lennox by his sleeve to get his attention. Lennox looked down at me, his hazel eyes looking through my brown ones, "Tell my parents I'm sorry." I coughed in between. He shook his head no, "I'm not telling them anything."

I ignored him, "Tell them I'm sorry for failing them." I felt him wrapping his hand around my cold one, "You're going to make it, Laura." He promised but I just answer with okay until I felt myself drifting to sleep.

I was always scared of death and pain. If I wanted to avoid any certain type of pain, I always ask for medications to feel numb. When I think about death, I always ask where we go from there. If there's an afterlife or do we just lay underground and be forgotten until we rot through time?

My parents will be pist at the thought of me dying.

Xxxxxxxx

No one's P.O.V.

The young female was going through cardiac arrest on the way to the main base. Lennox drove Ratchet vehicle while the said medic worked on the human to get her heart beating again. The moment her heart starts beating it will only last for a few minutes until her heart gives up again. The gauges weren't enough for her wound, they would soak up really quick as he picks on them to put fresh ones while blood dripped on the floor. It was a mess inside.

Lennox would glance at the rearview mirror whenever Ratchet cusses while working on Laura. The said Lieutenant Colonel would see her lifeless hand hanging over the stretcher with an I.V. inserted and every time he would hear the heart monitor flat line it felt as if his world would stop moving.

Few minutes before reaching to the base Laura flatlined once again and this time Ratchet had tried to resuscitate her for the last time. Humans can only substance electric shocks from the cardiac defibrillator before frying their hearts. This time, Ratchet charged it up to two hundred before calling it a quits. Laura did not respond to it. She lost too much blood and her heart just plain out gave up.

Lennox got out from the cabin and rushed towards the back cabin to open the door only to find Ratchet sitting down and looking at Lennox with sad eyes, "She did not make it." He told him.

Lennox eyes shifted to her pale body; her chest exposed with burn marks from the defibrillator. The heart monitor flatlining until Ratchet reached over to turn it off. Blood stained the stretcher and the floor. How is he going to tell her parents that she died or how she died? It was supposed to be a miss shot but Megatron moved her making the bullet hit her right on her lower abdomen. A shot made by one of his men.

What was she doing in the forest, anyways? Doesn't she know how dangerous it is to be out there alone? He thought to himself if she was alive, he would have told her the serious consequences keep a closer eye on her. An innocent citizen caught in a crossfire at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Just when they were about to take her down the monitor went off again, beeping as it picked up heart signal.

The medic furrowed his eyebrow when he looked at the monitor, "Is that her heart?" Lennox asked.

Ratchet grabbed his stethoscope and placed it over her heart then placing two fingers under her neckline. Suddenly, Laura's eyelids flew open eyes glowing dangerously in the color dark purple. Her hands going for Ratchet's neck growling at him.

"Shoot!" Ratchet shouted at his human friend, but Lennox didn't want to shoot at her. Ratchet noticed that he was hesitating when he shouted at him to shoot. Lennox grabbed a random needle that contained some kind of medicine and aimed it at her neck pressing down on the needle. Laura looked at him with blood shot eyes as she let go of Ratchet, falling down unconscious again.

"What was that?" Lennox breathed.

"Why did you not shoot?" Ratchet ignored his question but honestly, he wonders the same thing. The medic scanned her body and found a trace of dark energon coursing in her system already healing her wound on her abdomen, spitting out the bullet that was buried deep in her.

"How is that possible?" Ratchet asked. Never in his lifetime has he ever witnessed a human being coming back to life after being contaminated with dark energon. He has seen it with Cybertronians, but they were like zombies; they don't think they just attack under a command. They are only trained to killed. The medic feared that holding that type of energy in her body it may kill her or maybe do the opposite.

There was only one way to find out.

"We need to take her in." Ratchet instructed as they took her in and find her a room for her only.

Ratchet plans to study on her.

Xxxx

Do the dead dream?

Am I in another world? Paradise?

Why do I feel like it's too hot in here?

Why does everything sound so loud?

Why am I so thirsty?

Why does my body ache?

I opened my eyes slowly, my vision blurry. There was a white ceiling over me, and I can hear something beeping right next to me. I turned my head around and saw a heart monitor, like the one you see at the hospital.

What, why am I at the hospital? I tried to look down and tried to sit up only to realized that I felt something strapped on my arms.

"What the fuck?" I cussed. I tried to shake it off as if it will come lose. There was no one in the room with me but machines and four white walls. I shook the straps harder trying to snap it off as anger ran through my veins puffing out air through my nostril.

The door flew open when a doctor walked in with a familiar man, "Where am I?" I asked in a panic, "Why am I strapped?"

The medic came right over to me, "Alright, I need you to calm down." He pulled his stethoscope out as he came by my side. My body froze when I realized that his eyes were glowing blue, "You're not human." I breathed.

The medic got closer to me, placing the instrument over my chest but I shook him off, "Don't touch me!" I shouted.

"I'm trying to help you." He replied calmly.

"Laura," the familiar man came by my side, "Do you remember what happened to you?" My breathing was coming in too fast, I felt numbing and tingling sensation on my chest when I started to panic. The medic tried to calm me down and help me breathe but I didn't want anything from them.

"Laura, I need you to breathe in slowly." The medic told me, but I couldn't. I tried shutting my eyes and count to ten but when I close my eyes, I only saw weird signs like the ones that I seen on…the crystals. That is when everything was hitting me at once, I was in the forest alone to relax when I saw something glowing in the water, then Megatron and then…I opened my eyes and looked at the man across from me, "You're Optimus Prime." I breathed.

The leader nodded, "I am. I wish there was a better way to meet." Optimus was tall and muscular with curly black hair, a dimple on his chin and glowing dark blue eyes. He had his arms crossed across his chest waiting for more information from the Medic.

How am I alive? I know I was shot by my abdomen. The medic came over with a flashlight on his hand flashing in my eyes, "How are you feeling?" he asked, "Any headaches? Pain?" I looked away; the light was bothering me.

"Can you untie me?" I asked, "Please." The medic looked at Optimus who nodded at him. I rubbed my sore arms when I noticed handprints on my arms, "How long have I been out?"

For some reason I started to regret asking that question. The medic pulled out a clipboard and flipped a few pages as he started to write on the papers, "Two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" I started to freak out. My parents must have been worried about me, worrying where I am. I took out the I.V.'s from my arms and flipped over the blankets wincing at the soreness around my abdomen.

"What are you doing, Femme?" The medic dropped his clipboard and grabbed me by the arm to set me back to bed, "Can't you see that you are not in the best condition right now?"

"My parents, I need to see my parents!" I shouted.

Optimus held a grim look on his face, "I'm afraid that is not wise."

"Why not?"

"Laura," the medic whose name is Ratchet, "Your parents think you are dead."

I breathed in through my nose and shook my head, "No." I kept on shaking my head as I processed his response through my head.

"It is best to keep it that way, Laura. Especially in your state." Optimus pointed at me, I raised an eyebrow at him, "Wha-What do you mean?"

"You're not you." Ratchet answered. I was confused, "What do you mean?" I repeated, "I only got shot and recovered."

"Yes," Optimus recovered, "But they will not recognize you or take you as one of them…as their child."

I was still confused. Why would my parents deny me? I still feel like myself and think like myself (Hopefully). Ratchet handed me a mirror and looked at myself. The woman in the mirror looked back at me with glowing dark purple eyes. I quickly dropped the mirror in my lap. That is not me, that can not possibly be me. This has got to be a nightmare and I am obviously still in a comma.

I closed my eyes to count, "I think Laura is malfunctioning." Ratchet commented at Optimus. I opened one eye to glare at him, "I'm not a machine." I answered angrily. I grabbed the mirror again hoping that my eyes would go back to normal. I slowly pulled it up close to my face and there it was; glowing dark purple eyes, dark circles around my eyes, my skin paler than normal and the dark spots that I once had were gone. My hair was shinier and healthier looking, my lips were pink and almost fuller too. This isn't me; I don't belong in this body at all.

"What happened to me?" I thought out loud.

"It is the dark energon." Optimus answered.

"What's dark energon?" I asked.

"Dark Energon is a very powerful but corrupted version of energon which can be used as a violent weapon and explosive," Ratchet explained, "As Energon is the emanation of Primus, from which all Transformer life and power is formed. It is also called, 'the blood of Unicron'."

I tried to wrap my head around this new information, "So, let me get this straight," I placed the mirror back on my lap, "This…dark energon that I have in my system comes from a Unicorn?"

"Unicron." Optimus corrected, "But yes."

"And I am a living and breathing weapon?"

"When you put it that way…in a way, yes." Ratchet answered, "But we don't know exactly what you are capable of. This is our first time seeing a human with Dark Energon in their system. Normally with that amount of toxicity human tend to die right away."

Basically, I am a walking zombie, "Has Dark Energon been tried on other humans?" I had to know.

"Not by us, no. But we can't speak for Megatron and his team." Optimus replied, I would assume that they have tried to experiment on humans. I wouldn't be surprised.

"H-how did I get this Dark Energon in me?" I asked.

"We found broken pieces of crystals in your blood stream. Did you have one on you?" Ratchet asked, "I remember having one of them on me." Which explained that when I got shot the bullet hit the crystal which caused all this mess. This was too much to process but I did have more questions about Dark Energon which would have to be answered on another time.

I wanted to be alone and they seemed to notice that as well. Optimus excused himself and Ratchet left shortly after he took my vitals.

My parents think that I am dead. I did die and came back to life because of the mystical unicron blood running in my veins. I am the first one to survive the said unicron blood and we don't know the side effects or long-term effects meaning; I am a walking weapon and possibly a ticking time bomb.

I don't know what I am capable of and to be honest, I am scared to find out. What does Megatron has planned with the dark energon? How many humans have died when they have been experimented on it? How long did they survive? Were they in pain like I was while on Dark Energon? Or where they already injured? Too many questions and I don't know who to ask. I sat up; my back feeling tired in this hospital bed. My hand touched where the bullet went through, a white bandage wrapped around my entire lower abdomen. My fingers trailed up to where Megatron had his hands wrapped around my arms, his fingers still printed around them leaving a blue and purple bruise.

How am I going to adapt in this new life, in this new body? I am just a guinea pig to them and if the government was right about thing, alien do experiment on humans. I am a living proof.

I am scared, shitless. I am alone and I don't have no one to trust, I need to escape and let my parents know that I am fine and alive. I know that they will accept me the way I am and maybe help me get this Dark energon out of my system.

Xxxx

So, what do y'all think so far? Is Laura being too naïve? Overthinking?

Side note: I got Dark energon info from .com

Lastly, a special shout out to FluffyPrime for leaving a review! Thank you for your support!

Okay I'm about to leave but if yall want to follow me on twitter, it's at x_brendah_x

Ill post soon!


	3. Chapter 3: Monster

Chapter three: Monster

"'_Cause I feat I might break, and I fear I can't take it. Tonight, I'll like awake feeling empty." -Pressure; Paramore _

It's hard to adjust in this new body even though nothing major has changed. Ratchet had kept me in the same room for another week or so to 'observe' my progress and see if there are any changes. The only changes that they have noticed are my irrational mood swings; one minute I am fine the next minute I would be upset. The little things are triggering too, for example, I yelled at one of Ratchet's assistant, Jolt, for hurting me with a needle as he tried to draw out blood. I snapped at Ratchet when he asked me how I was feeling every freaking five minutes. I almost snapped one of the military man's neck for spilling hot coffee on my lap. HOT COFFEE. The hot part was supposed to burn my legs, right? Well, it healed fast only leaving a slight pink spot until at the end of the day it had completely vanished.

I had random crying spells because, well, I was alone. I had no one. My family think that I am dead, and I wanted to reach out to them to let them know that I am very well much alive, but Optimus still believe that is not the best idea for the moment. I had suicidal thoughts just telling myself that I am just better off dead.

I had tried commit suicide by cutting myself, but the wounds would heal fast. I tried to overdose but my body would immediately reject the pills. Ratchet had me on twenty-four-hour watch by one of his comrades whose name I forgot. I know it had something to do with an insect, but I keep on forgetting his name. I was alone with my own thoughts reminding me how useless and hopeless I am and how I am just a lab rat to these Cybertronians. I can't even look at myself in the mirror when those dark purple eyes staring back at me reminding me that I am not a human anymore.

I can't even sleep at night without having nightmares are seeing some sort of hieroglyphics in my dreams. At a times when I am not thinking of anything and feel that I am at calm I hear voices, but I can't make out what they are saying. I don't tell this to Ratchet fearing that he might classify me as crazy or unfit for society. And then there's Megatron, remembering how he was holding me- entrapping me in his embrace and ready for the kill. When I hear his name, see or even think about his name I get this rage building up inside of me my hands burning with this desire to kill him. To wrap my hands around his neck and feel what it is like to have his neck snapped just like how he threatened to snap mine. I wanted to see how his life vanishes before his eyes. Without noticing, I was balling up a hand full of blankets just thinking about what I wanted to do to Megatron.

I heard a soft knock on the door and the doorknob turning. I didn't bother to let the person or the Cybertronian it was okay to come in, there's not privacy in here. Ratchet came in with Lennox following behind him. I haven't seen him since well, you know when. He looked at me with a soft smile and with a "Hey." I didn't respond. I just looked away as I let go of the blankets.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked for the millionth time. I only grunted at him as I sighed in annoyance, "How many times are you going to ask me that?"

"Until I get the result that I am looking for." Ratchet responded back. Bless his heart, he knows how to respond back when I am being impossible with him. I wrapped my arms across my chest as I absentmindedly scratched where Megatron's handprint were.

Ratchet came over to my side with his stethoscope in hand to hear my heartbeat. Lennox stood by the foot of my bed, hands resting over the frame as he watched us.

"Breathe in and out." The medic instructed and I complied. He made me do that three times as he listened to my heart from my chest, working his way to my back and lower abdomen then pulled out his clipboard, "Good, your heart is beating normally."

"Oh, goodie." I replied sarcastically.

"How's your sleep? Still having those nightmares?" Ratchet ignored my sarcasm. The medic had me on medicine, Trazodone. It's an anti-depressant but also tranquilizer that should be able to help me to sleep but not help with the nightmares. To be honest, I only took them twice then stopped it only makes me feel groggy the following morning.

"Not much has changed." I answered. He just nodded as he grabbed the bottle of pills that were resting on the nightstand. Ratchet took the cap off then looked at me, "It's still full. Why are you not taking them? Are they not helping?"

I scratched my arm like I usually do when I get questioned and get nervous, "They are not helping with the nightmares. It's pointless."

"It's not pointless, Laura. You have to take them every night to help you sleep." Ratchet reminded as he pointed out at the instructions typed on the bottle.

"It makes me groggy in the morning." I complained. Ratchet placed his clipboard down on the nightstand so he could just glare at me, "How do you expect to get better if you cannot follow simple instructions?" He reminded me of my father whenever I would get in trouble. I sank deeper in my bed but a part of me wanted to swing at him for belittling me.

"Do you not want to get better?" He asked. Do I? From the corner of my eye I noticed Lennox raise his hand up, but Ratchet ignored him, "Do you want to become corrupted and zombie-like? You know, you are very lucky that we are even helping you because if it was to me you be better off dead." I felt a tightness in my throat, my eyes getting watery and my fist clenching.

"Okay, that's enough." Lennox stepped in, patting Ratchet on his shoulder to step back. Ratchet just looked at me for a moment as if he was ready to go at me but then he walked away realized that it wasn't worth it. I watched Ratchet leave, slamming the door behind him as he left us alone in the room. I bit my lower lip as I held in the sob that was forming on my throat and pulled back any threatening tears.

Lennox stood by where Ratchet was before he left, "I'm sorry about all that." The Lieutenant apologized, "He didn't mean it. He was just having a rough day." I looked at him remembering how he looked, hazel eyes short brown hair with grey hair in some areas, wearing all black uniform and an earpiece by his ear incase anyone needed to contact him.

I sniffed, rubbing my nose, "For someone having a rough day, they don't go around wishing someone else dead." I told him. Lennox exhaled, wanting to say more but let it go.

"I know you get this asked a lot, but how are you feeling?" I sat up, "Honestly." He said.

I cleared my throat to push down the knot that was forming, "Honestly?" my voice sounded shaky. Lennox nodded, "Tired." I was tired. Physically and emotionally tired, "I miss my bed. I miss taking long showers, I miss my best friend. Pizza." All I ever get here is bland meals and tasteless juices, flat pop or tap water. The Lieutenant laughed and nodded, "We can have few of those things changed, if you want." He suggested.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "How?" I questioned.

"Well, we got Optimus approval for your very own assigned room and in a couple of days you can go out to get clothes and any necessities that you need." If that wasn't the best news, I ever received then I don't know what is. "But," he raised a finger up, of course there was a catch, "Under supervision. You will have a guardian assigned to you."

"I don't need a babysitter." I replied.

"Or you could just stay here. Your choice." Of course, he will not leave me another choice, but I can work around it, you know what I mean.

"Fine." I tried to sound convincing, "Who's going to be 'guarding' me?" Who's this unfortunate soul that I will make his work impossible.

"We haven't decided yet, but we will let you know soon enough." He promised.

"When can I get to my new room then?" Lennox smiled, "Today, if you want." Of course, I want too! I'm tired of sleeping here and staring at these four windowless walls!

"Today it is then." I tried to smile at him, but it felt strange. I haven't smiled in the longest that I started to feel that I look like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of the Notre Dame with the messy hair and the weird colored eyes and the crocked smile.

"Sounds good. I'll go check to see if the room is ready while Jolt comes in to drop of some clothes for you and then I'll come back to get ya. Deal?" I nodded. To be honest, I was excited about this new movement. Maybe I needed this, to move around and stretch. The only places I only got to stretch was in this room. I have not left this room since I arrived here, and it was making me crazy.

I don't know what to expect in my new room or who will be my guardian. After Lennox left Jolt came in with clothes in his hand and placed it on the chair next to the door. He didn't say a word to me probably thinking that I might snap at him again. When he walked out, I got up from my bed my feet touching the cold marble floor with my nightgown still on. I untied the tie from the back of my neck and let it fall on the floor carelessly only leaving me half naked. I only had a panty and sport bra on. I still had the gauze bandage wrapped around my abdomen; I have that changed every three days, but this week seems to be the last week with it as it was properly healing. I grabbed the oversize grey t-shirt that had big, black, bold letters stamped in the center that read 'Air Force. I pulled it over my head and let it fall all the way to my butt then grabbed the black sweatpants. The legs were long which I had to fold, and it was loose by the waistline, thankfully it had strings to pull and adjust it. I felt like a five-year-old wearing an oversized shirt and pants. Either I lost too much weight, or these clothes are three times size bigger. My shoes were inside a plastic bag; they were a pair of black and white low top converse stained with dirt and blood.

I pulled out the pair of shoes of let it rest on top of the bag as I touched the dry blood. The dry human blood that used to be mine. Was it stupid of me being at the forest? I could have prevented all of this. I jumped when there was a knock on the door again, Lennox peeking in, "Ready?"

I grabbed my shoes and let it fall on the floor so I could put them on, "Yeah." I answered quickly before he changes his mind or anybody's else mind. I didn't have anything else to bring with me other than the useless medicine that Ratchet prescribed. I grabbed it and slid it inside the baggy pants pocket as I jogged up to Lennox.

"Woah, who picked those clothes for you?" He asked, laughing. I shrugged my shoulder, "Probably someone who thought I was overweight." I said, "or a man." We walked down the hall. People walked in and out, eyes on me. A group passed by us, whispering amongst each other as they pointed at me. I was a freak to them. I rubbed my arm nervously and looked down as we walked.

"Don't mind them," Lennox said next to me when he noticed I was avoiding gaze. How could I ignore them when they all stopped and stared at me?

_Is that her?_

_Is she one of them?_

_Look at her eyes._

_She doesn't belong here._

_A monster. _

_What a waste._

I wanted to run back to the room and hide from everyone. I can feel my breathing picking up, the familiar numbing and tingling sensation on my chest. I felt the whole room around me spinning in circles as I heard those whispering voices echoing in my head until I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Hey." I snapped out of it, "Are you okay?" Lennox asked. How is he not looking at me like the rest? My eyes looked behind him when I saw a pair walking out from a room and pass by us, watching me. Lennox noticed and held a grim face, glaring at them as they looked away once they got caught staring.

I wrapped my arms around my upper body, "I'm a threat to them." I said.

"Hey, no. Look, they aren't used to seeing…um," Lennox scratched the base of his neck as he was having a hard time to look for the right word, "Someone like me." I finished for him. He shook his head, "Someone with Unicron Blood. We weren't trained when something like this happen, they don't know what to expect." Why is he always excusing for everyone?

"Can we keep going?" I ignored his excused and waited for him to continue to walk. He only nodded and kept going straight. We took the elevator to get to third floor. All this time staying in one room for almost a month, this place is pretty dang big. Every corner you turn there is another hall leading to who knows were, countless of rooms and people walking around doing whatever they were supposed to do. At each floor there was a map to show where you were and at the corner there was a key box indicating what each symbol stands for.

We walked for doors down and turned to the left, another hall. When I looked up there was a sign against the wall that read '2ND WING, FLOOR B'. "This is your room." Lennox announced. It was the very first room just behind the sign. There was a room number pasted against the door with black letters. My room number was 200-F, Lennox pulled out a key from his pants pockets and unlocked the door for me. I felt the cold air leaving the room, walking in he switched the lights on. I frowned. This room was no different than the last room I was in only it was bigger the walls were in a neutral color instead of white, no windows, a twin size bed against the corner wall a desk at the opposite side of the room close to the door, a large drawer to put away clothes with a digital clock on top of it and a small closet. I sat down at the center of my new bed, my fingers touching the soft blankets.

"I know it's not much," Lennox leaned against the door frame, scratching his head with the key, "But it beats the other room you were in. And more privacy for sure." He smiled. I forced a laugh but failed.

"It's cold in here." I told him as I shuddered. I get cold easily, I rather be burning up than freezing up.

"Here." He closed the door and motioned with his finger to come closer to where he was, "You can control the temperature by switching here." He pointed at the pad and showed me where and how I can raise the temperature, "Is seventy-five okay?" He asked, I nodded.

"What about the bathroom?" Unfortunately, there was no bathroom in this room. "Down the hall to the left. Every floor everyone shares restroom like the pools but obviously its divided by gender." There was no privacy outside this building what made me think that there would be privacy inside?

There was a short awkward silence but before I could say anything, he beat me to it, "By the way. Tomorrow we can take you to the store to get clothes for you." He seemed a little embarrassed to say it, but it had to be said. I did not have any clothes, shoes or any basic necessities.

"Sounds like a plan." I replied. We heard a beeping sound coming from his walkie-talkie someone saying his name. He pressed his earpiece on his left ear and tilted his head to the side, "Yeah?...okay, be there in five."

"Duty calls." He said as he pointed behind. I felt awkward around him, but I appreciate how he did not look at me like the rest of the people. William Lennox made me feel like a _human._ For a moment he made me forget about this…energon flowing in my veins that I wasn't a monster and treated with kindness_. _I smiled at him and this time it did not feel forced or fake.

"Thank you." I told him and he nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow." Lennox promised. He left, closing the door behind. I walked around the room just taking everything in, how the walls were naked, desk paperless not a piece of clothes on the floor like how I had in my old room. How long will I stay in here? I felt like a prisoner. When I pulled a chair out by the desk, I heard a knock on the door, the same brown hair sticking out, "Forgot to give you your keys." Lennox said. I chuckled as I walked towards him to retrieve the key from his hands. Our fingers touched briefly but I felt an electric shock running through my veins making me pull back really quick, "Sorry." I told him, blushing. Was that me or did he feel that too? He waved at me, just closing the door behind him as he left once more.

Xxx

It was pitch black in the room, not a light in sight other than the one coming from under the door from the hall. It was past twelve and I was tossing and turning, falling asleep in between then waking up. The room was warm, the bed was fine I just couldn't sleep. My mind just keeps on running a million miles per hour as I think about my parents. Did they even look for me? Did Optimus and his team tell my parents what really happen? Who broke the news to them? What about Megatron, I know he has the remaining crystals that I had. What did he do with them? What are his plans? What about me? What is going to happen to me? Will I get worse? Will I even get better?

I can hear voices in my head constantly repeating how I am useless, how I am just a monster. Those horrible things that people said today, how can they judge someone so quick without knowing their situation? I want answers and I don't know who to ask. I hugged the pillow close to my chest, letting out a scream once I bit the corner to let my frustration out. What am I? I want to go back to who I was. I rather have my normal miserable life than live this new life as a ticking time bomb. I wanted to sleep but I am too scared to even blink because all I see is him, Megatron. And when I don't see him, I see hieroglyphics or things that don't even make sense. I don't want to take the pills either, but I was getting sick and tired of having Ratchet on my ass. I pulled the bottle out from the pocket taking the cap off and placed a white round pill at the palm of my hand. This one small pill is strong enough to make me sleepy but not enough to take away these nightmares. I sat up, popping the pill in my mouth and sipping on the water bottle to swallow it down. I had my back against the wall, my knees propped up with the blankets covering it. It would take at least another half hour to take effect.

I yawned, pressing my head against the wall. I wish this was all just a dream. It sucks to be alone and having no one to talk to around here. I have to somehow get back to my family and tomorrow might be my only chance to escape. I need to make a plan to have Lennox and whoever else is coming to distract them while I run. But how? I don't even know what store they are taking me. I yawned again, my eyes feeling heavy now. I laid back down, on my side, facing the wall. I closed my eyes and I could see nothing but darkness. My body relaxed and did some breathing exercise before I felt myself drift into sleep.

I love dreaming, I really do. But, having nightmares? Dark clouds were rolling in. Lightnings clashing as thunders roared to life making the ground shake. I tumbled to the side as I walked forward, feeling the ground rise up and everything else falling down. It was hot, really hot and when I looked down flames bursting up to the sky. Is this hell? I can hear moaning and groaning shouting for help, but I didn't see anyone until an arm came from underneath and pulling itself up. It was a robotic arm then its full body pulling itself up from the flames, "Why?" The robotic voice moaned, "Whyyy?" It cried. Another voice came from behind me, more Cybertronians pulling up from the flames. They were damaged, some had optics missing, others had half of their face missing, or missing limps as they made their way to me.

"You've done this! Why?" This time a female voice cried.

"Look what you have done!" Another wailing voice came right next to me, making me fall to the ground as more came circling around me. I panicked, I kicked at them when they got closer to me. One of them grabbed me by my leg, trying to pull me, "Look what you have done!" He pointed behind. Pointing at a burning city. It looked familiar.

"You did this!" The female Cybertronian shouted next to me as she wrapped her metal fingers around my neck, "You could have saved them! Saved us!"

"Look what you have done!" The wailing didn't stop. The city was my home, destroyed.

"You are a monster." A deep voice whispered in my ear, "You create chaos."

"No." I cried. The female Cybertronian tightened her grip on my neck, "Chaos." She repeated him.

"Now, you will watch them burn." He said. I shut my eyes close, but he forced them open. I can hear screams and cries for help. I cried begging them to stop but that same laughter haunted me.

"Soon, you will be mine." He whispered, feeling his finger caressing my cheek. Megatron knelt down in front of me, "Whether you like it or not." I shook my head no as he laughed. I gasped for air the femme tightened her grip. My hands tried to pry hers away, but she was too strong. Stronger than me.

"Open your eyes." Megatron ordered but I disobeyed, "Open!" He shouted when I felt his hand across my face jolting me awake. I sat up, gasping for air. I was sweating hard. I looked at the clock and it was already past nine in the morning. I slept through the whole night but still had nightmares. With no windows in the room, it was still dark. I can still hear footsteps from outside the door as soldiers passes by. My head felt heavy, my eyes felt heavy and still did not get enough sleep. My stomach growled as I was getting hungry. Maybe I should get up to get ready and probably find some food. I can still hear Megatron's voice in my head and being in the dark made it worse. I literally had to get up and dash to the opposite side of the room to switch the lights on. I wiped a hand across my forehead to wipe the sweat away, I have never sweat this hard in my life before. I felt disgusted. I need to shower but had no towel, no clothes, no nothing. I should at least wash my face and rinse my mouth.

I did my bed and tossed the pillows by the wall. I placed a hand on the doorknob, hesitating for a minute whether I should walk out or just stay in the room. I need to stop being scared of what other people think of me. Why is it so hard to ignore what they think of me? I closed the door behind me once I left my room. I followed the signs to find the restroom just when I was remembering that Lennox mentioned it was down the hall. Which hall though? I kept my head down as I walked, avoiding all eye contact as much as I could but they still looked at me. They know who I am since I was the only person in this building with the strange blood in my body. I could hear them whispering, saying _"That's her."_

I continued walking, wrapping my arms around my body as a comfort. The restroom wasn't too far from my room and there were no doors as I walked in. Lennox was right, the restroom was just like the ones at the pools, however, there were shower heads and curtains for privacy, bathroom stalls and sinks close to the exit. There was steam in the bathroom as there were few women showering. I noticed clothes by the bench placed at the center of the hall. There were lines of benches and lockers to put away your belongings. I walked towards an open sink I didn't even bother to wipe the steam off the mirror, I don't want to look at myself even though I can see the lights in my eyes reflecting. I turned the faucet on adjusting the water temperature to lukewarm, cupping my hands and splashing water in my face.

I heard footsteps from behind me but I didn't bother to look up and see who it was I just minded my business. The less attention I could get the better. I untied my ponytail and ran my hand through my long hair to tame it and set it up into a messy bun when I heard soft whispers by me, "Isn't that the girl with the Decepticon Blood? Laura?" The woman whispered.

"That's not Laura and that's no girl." Her friend whispered loud enough for me to hear, "Laura is dead." I looked up at her, her green eyes looking at my dark purple orbs, "That is a monster." The brunette pointed at me. They didn't care to talk about me or hurt my feelings. My hands clenched in anger wanting to go at them.

"Maybe the two of you should shut your trap before I report it to the Lieutenant." A woman behind me threatened. The two soldiers in front of me held a grim look then turned away from us. I turned around and saw a tall woman, an inch or two taller than me and fit, blue glowing eyes, pitch black long hair with neon blue highlights and fair skin. She looked like a model, like the ones you see on a motorcycle magazine wearing skintight, leather leggings, a white fitted v-neck and black leather jacket.

"You didn't have to do all that." I told her as I pointed behind me. The woman was clearly a Cybertronian; she placed a hand on her hip and smiled, showing her pearly white teeth "I think what you are trying to say is Thank you." She said, "My name is Chromia, by the way." Chromia offered her hand for a shake.

"Laura." I said. The Cybertronian nodded in acknowledgement, "I looked for you at your assigned room." She let go of my hand, "For a moment I thought you ran away." There was a hint of sarcasm in there, but something told me that she was being serious.

I forced a laugh and nervously scratched my wrist, "That would be hard to do when I get lost easily in this building." Chromia nodded in acknowledgment, "Anyways, Lennox assigned me to be your temporary guardian until Bumblebee comes back."

"Who's Bumblebee?" I asked when we walked out the bathroom together. Is bumblebee a nickname? Because, if it isn't, who would name a child after a bug? "Bumblebee is our scout, he's real nice. You'll like him." Chromia smiled. "You must be hungry."

I haven't thought about food, hell, I don't even remember when was the last time that I ate. I followed Chromia to the elevator just listening to her talk, "You can eat first and then we can go to the store so you can get clothes and any necessities for your new room." My eyes widened when she told me about going to the store. I realized that it would be my chance to escape and look for my parents. This would be my only opportunity to let them know that I am alive and well.

To go back home.

There were a lot of people in the cafeteria. Some heads turned to look but the rest just minded their business. It was a little bit loud in here just like at any cafeteria. Chromia tapped my arm to follow her and stand in line. I picked up a brown tray and looked at my food options; oatmeal, bowl of fresh fruits, French toasts, scramble eggs, yogurt. The food didn't look that appetizing and neither did the smell. I only grabbed plain yogurt and a water bottle. Chromia looked over, "That's all you're going to eat?"

I nodded, "Not really hungry." I half whispered. She frowned and just nodded, "Let's go sit. You've got people to meet." She pointed with her head. More? We sat down at a long pale blue table with benches attached. There were two more Cybertronians sitting across from us, another female and a male both looking up with a smile on their faces, "You must be the famous Laura." The man said.

I sat down, placing my yogurt and water in front of me, "My names is Sideswipe but, my friends call me 'Wipes." He introduced, "And this is Arcee." He pointed at the woman next to him. Arcee had similar features like Chromia, however, Arcee had pink pixie haircut, piercing blue eyes with a hint of pink by her pupil, her skin white as a snow with flushed cheeks. She seemed nice and shy, who knows how she is in the field.

"Arcee is my baby sister," Chromia said, "We have an older sister, her name is Elita-1."

"Yeah, just don't get on Elita's bad side." Sideswipe warned with a smile, "Or any one of us." Chromia added as she glared at the brunette.

"So, where are you from?" Arcee with the pink pixie cut asked as Chromia and Sideswipe started bickering next to us, "From around here too." I answered while watching Sideswipe throwing a paper ball at Chromia who retaliated by throwing a piece of grape at him. Arcee shook her head, sighing in annoyance, "Don't mind them. How are you feeling by the way?" How am I feeling? Not like me. I shrugged my shoulder, "I'm okay, I guess." But I wasn't okay, though and I don't think that I ever will.

Arcee was the conversational, asking me questions. Sideswipe was the funny guy starting unnecessary fights with Chromia. They seemed fit and if you were to look at them from afar you would think that they are one of us by how they act, how they move, how they talk and how they dress. In reality, they are dangerous and a threat. A threat not to humanity but to their rival enemies. How can they live with themselves every day knowing that they have a gun pointed at the back of their heads?

Just thinking about that, I realized that I have a target painted at the back of my head with a bigger gun pointing at me.

Xx

After we finished eating, we got ready to leave. Sideswipe and Arcee decided to join us as well. I rode with Sideswipe since I felt nervous riding a motorcycle which is what the sisters are. Sideswipe was a gray stingray corvette, he had all black leather seats, spotless inside of his car and smelling good. Sideswipe kept the conversation going during the ride, he was a jokester by the things that he tells me. He looked like the prankster type; his smile gives it away. He looks a lot like Dave Franco with thick eyebrows, square jaw and good looking.

We reached to a super store that I have never seen before. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach while planning for my escape. It has to be the moment that they get distracted. Luckily, I know this area just wasn't familiar with the store. I have to think a way of transportation to my parents' house too.

When we got off, I followed them inside. Everyone looking at me as soon as I walked in. I swear someone dropped something fragile when he or she saw me and how I looked. I can hear people gasping, fearing. Sideswipe pulled up by me with a cart, grabbing snacks from the shelves throwing them carelessly on the cart, "Just grab whatever you want or need." Chromia stated.

"Who's going to pay? I don't have money." I said. I could hear Arcee laugh, "That's one of the benefits of being part of N.E.S.T. sweetie. You don't pay for crap." Sideswipe announced.

We walked towards women clothing section, the trio being close to me while I browse. I wasn't paying much attention as I picked out clothes. I would just grab a random piece of clothe and drop it in the cart. My eyes scanned for my exit and started to think of an excuse to be alone. Sideswipe wasn't that for from me, he was by the jewelry section flirting with one of the workers. Arcee and Chromia were few feet away from me, checking out some clothes. I saw a bathroom sign that was across of the store close to the exit. I could use an excuse to use the bathroom.

I sighed, trying to compose myself and relax.

"Hey, Laura? What do you think of this shirt?" Arcee called out, showing me a camouflage crop top that said, 'Can't see me'. I forced a smile, "Looks good." I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and licked my lips, "I need to use the bathroom." I pointed behind me.

"I'll go with you." Chromia said from behind me. Crap, she probably assuming about my plans. Suddenly we heard glass breaking, our eyes darted to where the sound came from. Apparently, Sideswipes was trying to show off to one of the sales associates and broke glass bottles.

"What the frag did you do, dumb nut?" Arcee shouted. The store manager appeared walking towards Sideswipe, Chromia held a finger up at me, "Hold on." Leaving me alone to talk with the manager. This was my chance.

I slowly took a step back. Chromia checked up on me once while talking to the manager and once she argues with him, I took off running. I ran towards the exit. I didn't dare to look back in fear of falling or them catching up on me. As soon I stepped out, the sun gleamed down on me. I looked around to see if I could get a ride and by get, I mean to steal a car. The only problem was that I don't know how to start a car without a key. I looked around desperately until a man pulled up a empty parking lot with his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I ran towards him, pushing off before he could turn off the ignition.

"Hey!" I heard him shout when I backed out. I don't know how to ride this thing, but it came to me naturally. I revved the engine and took off.

I hit the dirt road, driving fast as this bike could take me. I cut off people, leaving a trail of dust behind me. I could see my home just up the hill. I was so anxious to make it. I disobeyed all traffic laws just to avoid getting caught. When I arrived at my parents property, I got off the bike letting it fall to the ground carelessly. I jumped over the fence running up the driveway, "Mom!" I shouted. I can feel a knot forming on my throat, "Dad!" It felt that as closer I got to the main entrance the further back the front door went.

When I finally made it to the front door, I rang the doorbell and banged on the door when no one answered until finally I heard the door creak. "Mom." I breathed.

She gasped, "Laura?" Her eyes were red and puffy. Her hair wasn't braided how she usually has it, instead it was down in a low ponytail. She looked more older than the last time I saw her, the shine in her eyes were gone too.

"Mom, it's me." I cried, trying to push the door open. "But, they said that you died." I shook my head, "I'm here, mom. Please, open the door." Mom seemed hesitant, "Mommy, please." I begged.

"Who is it?" I heard a deep voice from behind her. Mom opened the door, letting my dad see. He looked worse than my mom, dark circles around his eyes, his beard was longer from the last time I saw him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dad snapped at me.

"Es Laura, Joe." Mom told him, placing a hand on his chest. My dad shook his head furiously, "No, Laura is dead. That is a monster." He pointed at me, making me flinch.

"Dad, it's really me." I told him, tears forming at the corner of my eyes.

"No, our daughter is dead. You're a monster, you killed her." I felt my chest heaving as he accused me.

"Dad, please." I cried, "I can prove it to you." I placed a hand on the door, "I'm still me."

"Get away from us." He shouted. I heard engines roaring from the back. I looked at my mom, who was crying, "Please mom, don't do this." Mom wiped her tears away and looked at my dad.

"Don't talk to her and leave." He said, "Get out!" He shouted when he saw that I wasn't moving. That's when I saw up reach for his riffle and point it at me, "Get out before I shoot you." My own father threatened.

"Laura!" I heard a familiar voice shout.

My heart shattered, "You would shoot your own daughter?" I asked in disbelief. Dad cocked his riffle, "My daughter is long gone. You killed her. You're a monster." I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Laura." Lennox whispered, "Let's go." He tugged on my elbow, pulling me back.

I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay here with my parents.

"Get out." My dad repeated one last time. Mom watching, sobbing. Dad didn't put his weapon away until I was completely out of their property.

Lennox helped me get inside of the black GMC, closing the door behind me. When I looked outside through the tinted windows, my parents were already gone. They did not even bother to let me explain and just saw me as a monster. Accusing me as such.

"You shouldn't have done that." Lennox said after a while. I didn't bother to look at him or hear him belittle me. I don't need anyone to tell me what I can or can't do anymore.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the long wait, I had a busy week (and probably the most traumatic too). Hope yall like this chapter!

Es means is, ex: es laura ; it's laura.

Thank you for the reviews!


	4. Chapter 4: In My Head

Announcements:

Hey guys! I am back and I am alive!

Thank you all for your patience, reviews and ghostly readers I appreciate for taking your time for reading a possible crappy story XD

FlufflyPrime: I am swell, just living the day (insert heart emoji here) and I love your way of thinking! ^_^

P.S. have yall watched the joker yet? If so, what are your thoughts? You like? No Bueno? I watched it and I loved it, as DC fan I love making connections in every movie. No spoilers but the last scene I was like "Oh…it all makes sense now…"

Disclaimer: I don't own any transformers characters or any of their franchise only HASBRO does, nor the rights to any songs/lyrics. All I own are my OC'S and Minor OOC's.

-B

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter Four: In my Head

_"I'm hearing voices all the time up in my head…I'm hearing voices and they're haunting my mind." – Black out Days; Phantogram_

Have you ever held a gun before? Do you know how it feels in your hand? I have only held a gun once in my life when I was probably in my late teens. My dad placed it on top of a stump while he was burning wood. The black matte pistol laying there unattended and I was curious how it felt in my hand but never had the guts to hold it, I was too scared to hurt someone or myself. Today, however, I held one in my hands, my fingers wrapped around the frame. This weapon made me feel exposed and dangerous knowing that I can kill just about anyone in my sights. At first it made me feel vulnerable because I didn't know how to hold such weapon, how to point nor how to shoot until Lennox and Ironhide taught me what there was to be learn in weaponry and fighting skills.

"A common misconception is you need a rigid stance when firing." The Lieutenant Colonel said while he handed me a black headphones and protective eyewear since we were in the shooting range. We put them on as Lennox picked up a pistol to start showing me how to properly fire a weapon, "Instead, keep a slight bend in your arms, bring your other hand up for support, pressing your thumbs together like this." He had his left hand around the support his finger beside the trigger and his right hand at the bottom of the support. I watched him carefully, how he held the gun naturally in his hands as he pointed at his target in front of us.

"Drop one foot back. Find a steady base." He positioned himself then glanced at me just to make sure that I was paying attention. "Bring the tip of the pistol up to the target." He pointed at the poster with the said weapon, "Squeeze the trigger, then…" Lennox pulled the trigger hitting the target by where its heart would be, listening to the bullet go through the poster, "Boom." Lennox looked at me and smiled at his accomplishment, "Got that?" I only nodded 'yes' but I wasn't sure if I was ready. Lennox makes it seem so easy, but I know its not. I memorized all the weapon anatomy that there is thanks to Ironhide but to actually physically hold one was a whole other level, "Now," Lennox placed the pistol down, "Picture somebody whose guts you hate." He patted my shoulder in encouragement before he took a step back. I put on my headphones on to cover my ears then grabbed the same pistol he used to teach me.

I took a deep breath as I was trying to find my stance, I felt stupid as I switched my feet and bending my arms. I peeked at Lennox just for approval then looked forward, my right hand around the frame with my index finger resting on the trigger and my left hand supporting the bottom of the frame both elbows bent.

"A little bit higher." Lennox pointed out, "Otherwise you're going to hit nothing but air." I pointed a little bit higher and center. I licked my lower lip and exhaled as I pulled the trigger my arm jerking a little bit backward. Did I hit my target?

"Not bad for your first try." Lennox commented from behind me. I furrowed my brows, "What do you mean? I didn't hit." I looked at him who was next to me now. "You did, its right outer bicep." I had to squint a little bit to see what he was pointing at, my vision zooming in closer. It's one of the perks of this new life, my new and improved body came with few upgrades; smell, taste, hearing heightened and my vision improved as well.

I grinned feeling a little excited, "See?" Lennox placed a hand behind my lower back. I looked at his hand then at him, blushing. I guess he noticed what he did since he pulled away quickly, "Sorry." He apologized embarrassingly as he scratched his neck nervously then took a step back, "Try again."

I cranked my neck as I tried to focus pulling the pistol up again while adjusting my new permanent stance, "You need to have an aim and you need to be quick where you want to shoot." Lennox said. This time I tried to point at its heart, "Wherever you choose to shoot, aim a little higher or you will most likely miss like the first time." I raise my arms higher thinking I got the perfect target.

"Here," Lennox came from behind me, placing his hands over mine, "Use the rear sight." Lennox suggested, and even though our ears were covered I imagined what it would feel like when he whispers in my ear, giving me goosebumps. My heart was racing just by having him touching my hands making me nervous. "Where are you trying to aim?"

"It's uh, um, heart." I said, almost stuttering.

"Who are we shooting?" He asked this time.

Who are we shooting? Who is my target? At the moment I didn't have anyone in mind, and he noticed, "It could be anyone. Someone you hate, a bully, an ex-boyfriend whatever."

I snickered, "I never had a boyfriend." I said out loud. It took me a minute to realized that I just said that to him. I can feel my cheeks flushing in the color of red, I was mortified.

From the corner of my eye I looked at him, who only smiled, "That's good. I mean, it's not good you never had a boyfriend unless you're into girls." He was rambling, "There's nothing wrong with that..."

"Lennox." I stopped him, "Yeah." He cleared his throat, "Right. Target, just imagine anyone."

"Megatron." I told him. My target would be Megatron, that would help me forget this embarrassing moment and take me back to the night in the forest.

"Look at through the rear sight every time you aim," he instructed while not letting go of my hands, raising it up slightly, "Our aim at the heart?" He asked. I closed one eye almost winking as confirmed that our aim was at the heart, well spark I should say. Cybertronians have Allspark that are almost like heart in a way.

"Okay, pull the trigger." He instructed then let go of my hands. My finger pressed the trigger my shoulder jerking a little bit back and the bullet going through my target's Allspark. I straightened up placing the pistol down and taking the safety glasses off to look at my shoot, "You made it, nice job!" Lennox complimented. I made it but with help, I wanted to try without help this time.

"I want to go again." I said, putting my gears back on and grabbing the pistol. I found my perfect stance, elbows bent, aim steady and my target turning into my worst enemy. I can see his lips curling into a wicked smile, his red eyes gleaming, hearing his voice calling me insect and pathetic. My finger itched to pull the trigger already, my blood boiling. I was getting mad, mad at him because he turned me into someone else. Mad at him because my family turned their backs on me. I pulled the trigger, hitting his Allspark and aiming at his head, pulling the trigger twice, then heading to his stomach, pulling the trigger couple times.

"Woah there, Laura." If it wasn't for Lennox, I would have gone another round until the poster ripped into shreds. Others that were practicing next to us looked over in annoyance before returning to their targets. Lennox took the gun from my hand to place it on top of the counter. I felt tingling in my fingers, my knees and feet. I felt like my body wanted to curl up into a ball and a lump on my throat, I wanted to fire more to get all these feelings out. I can feel my nose flaring and my breathing shortening, I placed my hands on my knees and tried to breath through my mouth. I felt like everything was closing up around me. I needed room.

"Laura?" Lennox placed a hand on my back, his voice sounded distant, "Laura." I pushed his hand away and walked out of the shooting range to get air. I felt so entrapped in this building, I felt like a rat in a cage looking for escape. The halls looked distant, the white walls closing around me and the people passing by just watching me. I wanted to run, so I ran. I ran towards the nearest exit I could find until I was completely outside of the building.

The cold wind greeting my exposed skin, the cloudy sky threatening to rain and the familiar air. I inhaled deeply as my eyes watered up threatening to let a tear fall and then exhaled. I can feel a ball forming in my throat my nose running every time I want to cry. I tried to clear my throat and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. I looked over the horizon trying to distract myself, from my parents. From Megatron but I couldn't. It was hard.

A tear rolled down to my cheek, "Fuck." I cussed at myself as I wiped the tears away. I hate crying so much. If my dad was here, he would have told me to wash my face by now.

"Laura, are you okay?" Lennox asked from behind me. I looked at him as more tears fell down, I forced a laugh when I looked away wiping them away quickly, "Sorry." I apologized embarrassingly.

"Hey," he came around to face me, placing both hands on my shoulder. His brows furrowed his dark brown eyes never leaving my now dark purple eyes, looking concerned "What's wrong? You can talk to me." I wanted to hide away from everyone.

"I rather not," I said, "I mean, its not you its me." I tried to explain, "If I tell you what is wrong with me, I'll just cry even more, and I don't want to do that."

Lennox sighed and let go of my shoulder, "You don't need to keep everything to yourself, Laura. Whatever is bothering you- we are here to help."

I wiped my tears, looking away as I bit the inside my cheek trying to avoid of frowning, "Yeah," I said, looking at him, "Can you give me my old life back?" Lennox held a grim look already knowing what that means, "Thought so."

I sniffed, wiping away any remaining tears while I calmed down, "I'm fine." I gave a shaky sigh then cleared my throat so I can sound firm when I talk. Lennox looked at me and whenever he looked at me it was way different than the rest of the people of the base; he doesn't treat me different, just human. He doesn't see me as a threat at all or like I was from another planet. Whenever I am around him, I feel like my human self and forget about my new life. When I look at him, I forget about this hopelessness that I feel and loneliness, the way he motivates makes me want to become greater.

Before he could say anything else, we heard a high-pitched voice shouting from behind us, "Daddy!" I saw a little girl with piggy tails running towards us carrying a doll in her hand. I knew Will had a daughter, but I never met her or his ex-wife. I also knew that he was divorced from what Ratchet told me, but he never went into details and I never asked Lennox about it either, I felt like that was something personal. However, he does talk about his daughter here and there that's about it.

"Hey-hey love bug!" Lennox knelt down while his daughter ran into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping her little legs around his abdomen, "Hi Daddy! Look, Ironhide found my dolly!" The little blonde girl pulled her arm around to show him her stuffed mermaid, "Oh did he now?" The little girl nodded excitedly and smiled, "Where was it?"

"You do not want to know." Ironhide replied next to me making me jump. When did he get there? I looked up at him who only looked down at me, no greetings at all then looked away. Ironhide is intimidating, always dressing in black, his curly peppermint hair pulled back his face covered with beard and a mustache, a scar across his left eye from probably a battle, he was bulky as well and constantly death glaring. He is someone you don't want to mess with.

The little girl looked at me, she looked a lot like Lennox, same eyes, same nose, lips and smile, "Who she?" She pointed at me. Lennox looked at me with a smile, "That's my friend, Laura." He introduced, I waved at her and smiled.

"Hi Laura! My name is Annabelle. Ohh, you have pretty eyes! Why are they glowing? Are you like Ironhide and Optimus?" How on Earth can she talk fast without breathing?

"Annabelle, be nice." Lennox warned.

"Sorry." Annabelle apologized and covered her face with her doll. I awed at her, walking towards them standing by Lennox side, "It's okay. Thank you for the compliment though. I like your doll, what's her name?"

Annabelle pushed on Lennox chest indicating that she wants to get down, "Her name is Princess Anna." I chuckled; she named her doll after her.

"She is the queen of the ocean!" Annabelle shouted excitedly, "Princess Anna has friends too, want to meet them?"

"Sweetie, Laura probably is busy." Lennox told her, I crouched down to her level, "I would love to meet Princess Anna's friend." And poked her belly, "They're probably nice."

"You're going to wish you never said that." Lennox whispered behind me, making me laugh.

"Yay!" Annabelle clapped her hands excitedly. The alarm on my watch went off reminding me of the appointment I have with Ratchet today for a quick check up.

"I gotta go." I said as I got up then turned to Lennox, "Thank you." I told him and before I walked away, I waved goodbye at his little offspring.

I did not want to get in their way and give them time alone. However, I wondered why she was here. As I walked away, I looked bad for no reason and caught Lennox watching me smiling. I looked away blushing and smiling at myself.

I walked back inside the base heading straight to Ratchet's assigned office which was located at the other side of the building. It was a long walk I'll tell you that. Before I even walked inside his office, I knocked on the door, the medic gets bothered when anyone walks in without knocking first.

I waited for his permission to let me in and before I could knock again the door opened, the blue haired femme walked out. She looked at me for a brief second then continued to walk away. Chromia was still mad for ditching her at the store and for getting her in trouble. Arcee and Sideswipe had forgiven me but not Chromia, every time we cross paths or lock eyes, she would only death glare at me or growl at me. She does not appreciate my presence at all. I don't blame her.

"Laura, come in." Ratchet called from his desk, finishing up signing some documents, "Sit." He instructed pointing at the empty berth with his head without even looking at me. I walked over, passing him and jumped on top of the berth crossing my legs, my palms resting at the edge of the berth.

"Have you been taking your meds?" Ratchet asked without even looking at me.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes."

"How is your sleep? Still having nightmares?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "No changes, other than having intense nightmares."

"But you're taking Trazodone, right?" He asked. I didn't answer and fidget with the tissue papers wrapped around the berth. The medic turned around when he noticed that I didn't reply, "Laura." His voice sounded stern and angry at the same time.

"They make me groggy in the mornings! And they don't help with the nightmares." I pointed out. Ratchet pinched the bridge of his nose, "You humans…" he muttered then said something else in his native language.

"Those nightmares will not go away if you do not take your medications properly, Laura." Ratchet reminded as he got up and pulled out his stethoscope that was resting around his neck. He walked behind me to place the stethoscope on my back "Breath in and out."

I followed his instruction, "Trazodone makes me groggy in the mornings, like if I had a hangover."

Ratchet came in front and placed the stethoscope on my chest as he listened to my heart beating, "Then you can take half of the pill."

"What about my nightmares?" I asked, watching him write on his clipboard, "What about them?"

Is he serious? Is he not paying attention? Can I just hit him with is clipboard? My fingers clenched around the berth mattress my knuckles turning white, "Will those damn sleeping pills help reduce the nightmares?" Ratchet glanced at me, his eyes darting at my white knuckles and sighed, "Sleeping pills are to help you to sleep not to reduce nightmares."

"Well, what can I do about them?" I asked. Ratchet placed his clipboard down then leaned on his desk, arms crossed across his chest, "Control them."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "Control them? How?"

"Establish a regular, relaxing routine before bedtime. Talk about your dreams or write about them, maybe its stress or anxieties that us causing you to have nightmares." The medic suggested as he walked around the berth to grab an otoscope to look inside my ears.

"Or use a night light." I can hear humor in his tone. I rolled my eyes at him before he pulled away. Ratchet finished up with his physical check routine on me, all this was new to him. For both of us but we are learning along the way whenever we discover anything new.

I swing my legs as he finishes up, "So, I've been meaning to ask," I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear as I licked my lower lips, "When can I go out in the field to patrol with the rest?" I pointed out. Ratchet looked at as if I had another head then looked down at his clipboard, "No."

"No?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What do you mean, 'no'."

"No means not any. It is used to give a negative response." He remarked, I groaned at his sass, "I'm being serious! I am ready to be out there."

Ratchet sighed, "Why do you want to be out there? Do you want to get killed?"

"I'm strong." I replied.

"You think that, but I say so otherwise." I frowned at his response. Again, the Medic sighed, "You are strong, I will agree on that, however, you are not ready."

"How am I not ready?" I asked, bewildered.

"Poor judgement call."

"What?"

Ratchet pulled a chair out to sit down, crossing his leg, "Tell me, are you still having panic attacks when you hold a gun?" Where is this coming from? Did Lennox tell him?

"Exactly. You are not ready." He repeated.

"I am." I snapped.

"No. End of discussion." That is what Ratchet is good at, leaving no room for explanations. What he says its how it goes without any questions asked. I don't want to be indoors at all time doing nothing or helping out at least. I want to join the N.E.S.T. Team, go on patrols and such but Ratchet was preventing me from doing so. All I was allowed to do was train and help around the base. If I wanted to leave the base I had to ask for permission and have someone assigned to me as a bodyguard and its usually Bumblebee whom we became close friends or Ironhide. However, Ironhide is always busy so we never go out whenever he gets assigned to me.

"Fine." I mumbled, getting off the berth, "Are we done?"

Ratchet nodded, "You may go." And when I walked out Ratchet said, "Don't forget to take your medicines." I flipped him off when the door closed and walked away.

I walked down the hall already heading back to my room to grab my clothes and head to shower. I felt that I need a really good shower to wash off today's emotions and call it a night. I walked into my room really quick to grab my towel, pajama, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Thankfully I had the bathroom to myself tonight. It was Friday and usually half of the military base are patrolling, training or out eating with their friends. I always use the middle washroom stall, placing my toiletries on the empty bench. I walked over to the sink that was just across from the washroom stall and looked at myself. Dark circles around my eyes, my dark brown hair now longer, my skin became more clearer and probably paler as well. My lips used to be dark but now they are pale pink, hair glossy, longer lashes, firmed body due to the training. And let's not forget those dark purple eyes. Every time I look at them, I can hear my father's voice, calling me a monster. I hate looking at my eyes.

I sighed and pulled away, taking off my shirt, sitting down on the bench I untied my combat boots, socks then my pants. My fingers trailed my lower abdomen, touching the scar where Megatron shot me. That was a reminder, that the day I cross path with him I will finish him. I will kill him with my bare hands.

But when will that day come?

I took off my underwear and bra before jumping into shower, grabbing my towel and hang it up on the hook. I let the hot water hit my skin, my hair, my entire body. I stayed under the shower head as long as I could, holding my breathe and closing my eyes reminding myself that that's were I should be; in the dark buried six feet below. The steam was building around me, fogging up the view in my little stall. I washed my hair then my body, the whole time keeping my eyes closed.

'Pathetic' I heard a feminine voice say. I opened my eyes wiping the water off my face as I scanned around the restroom, "Who's here?" I asked, but no one answered, and no one was around. I shrugged my shoulder and went back to shower. I stayed in the shower for a while, enjoying the hot water and closing my eyes again.

That's when I heard the voice again, 'Insect'. That voice sounded so close, yet no one was around. Am I hearing things now? No, I shook my head. Someone probably pranking me, trying to scare me or go crazy. I decided to ignore it and finish up showering.

When I was done, I quickly changed, dried my hair then washed my teeth. I placed my towel around my shoulder, so my shirt won't get wet from my long hair and let it air dry. I walked back to my room, closing the door behind me.

The past month being here, I took the time to organize my new room. I now have lights set up by my bed, my desk contained a laptop that I hardly use, my journal and a pencil. At the corner I had a pile of dirty clothes and shoes. The door I had a mirror hanging since I didn't have one in here, and my bed remained messy. I do my bed some days, other days I just leave it as it is with a book somewhere around there and my iPod by my nightstand along with my pills.

I know what you must be thinking; who uses iPod anymore? Me. I do. I love listening to music. I dropped my towel on top of the chair by my desk and walked by my messy bed pulling the covers and grabbing my book that I was currently reading. I was feeling a little tired now, but I wanted to read before going to bed. I made myself comfortable, took my pills and played music before picking up my book.

While I was reading, I can feel my eyes trailing off. I couldn't concentrate on the chapter and started to see double almost like the words were floating in front of me. These damn pills and its side effects. I sighed in frustration and tossed the book beside me, hitting the wall then bouncing to the floor. I turned off the lights and laid down so I could at least go to sleep. Catch any sleep that I can get. I closed my eyes, counted sheep and listened to music that helped me drift to sleep.

I couldn't help to think that I blurted out about my relationship to Lennox.

Xxxxx

You know when you are dreaming,_ you just know it_, and as much you try to control what happens in there it is simply impossible. Some nights I have simple dreams but most of the time I have nightmares and when I do it gets hard and harder to wake up. I find myself walking down the dark hallway, live cables snapping as sparks flying every where when I pass by rooms. The atmosphere was cold and I no one was around here. I had my arms wrapped around my upper body as I shivered due to how cold it was.

Where am I? What am I doing here? I can hear noises and moaning but I wasn't sure where it was coming from. I kept on walking slowly, the hairs on my arms standing up warning me how dangerous it is here. I can hear my footstep echoing and the little splash whenever I step on water. My eyes adjusted in the dark however, I couldn't see anyone or hear anyone.

"Laura." A familiar feminine voice whispered my name. I turned my head to the left where I thought it came from but there was no one there. I can feel my heart beating fast. I turned down to another hall where I saw a wall smashed and whole in the center, cables hanging over the big hole. Chairs were thrown across the halls, wet papers sprawled everywhere like fall leaves, weapons lying there.

"Come here." The same voice instructed. I looked behind, again, thinking that its where it is coming from.

"Who, who's there?" I asked out loud. No one answered, instead I saw a metal tentacle like stretching out from the destroyed wall coming right for me. My instinct told me to run but my feet felt like they were glued to the ground.

"You are mine." Another male robotic voice whispered. I recognized that voice. I forced my legs to move but they wouldn't budge. Next thing I knew, I was being wrapped. It was no tentacle but thick wires wrapping themselves from my ankles all the way up to my arms then started to drag me.

"Let me go!" I shouted as I tried to free my arms, but I was trapped really tight. I was brought up, hanging upside down. My long hair falling in front of my face, but I was still able to see my surroundings. There were countless of security TV's installed at the wall in front of me and none of them had connections.

"Laura." He said my name. My eyes searched for him, but I couldn't see him. I struggled to get myself down. Why am I struggling? I am strong! I can rip anything, break myself free! I shut my eyes closed to remind myself that this was just another nightmare.

I can feel someone in front of me, but I refused to open my eyes until I was sure I was awake and didn't hear anything. "Open your eyes." He instructed.

"This is just a dream." I told myself, "You are having a nightmare."

He laughed, "This is far worse than a nightmare, fleshling."

I shut my eyes tighter, "Wake up, wake up!" I needed to pinch myself but how? The wires tightened themselves even more, feeling the pressure around my body.

"Open your eyes, Laura." Megatron instructed angrily.

"No." I replied firmly.

"Soundwave." The leader called out for one of his followers. Suddenly, I felt shocks cursing through my veins making me scream in pain. Without wanting to, I open my eyes.

There he was, the leader of Decepticons, red optics locked into mine.

His lips curled into a smile, "There she is." He awed in amusement. I can feel my body tingling after the electric shock that Soundwave gave me.

"Tell me, Laura. Are you hearing voices in your head? Do you feel, perhaps, someone saying your name?" Megatron crouched down to my eye level, his face too close to mine. I can smell his breath, his dark red eyes glowing bright enough to make my skin glow. I can see my eyes in his, I was so lost in them I almost forgot where I was. Almost mesmerized, what is he doing to me?

"I-, uh…" His finger-like circling around my eyes making me go frenzy. He only smiled even more, "A voice that does not belong to you, hmm?" I had to swallow, trying to find my voice. I can feel my vision clouding, what is he doing to me?

"Megatron." I heard another voice, a female voice in my head. When she said his name, it sounded pleased as if she knew to expect him. I felt like I was going into a trance, I felt that I was no longer in control of my body either. Every time he touched my face, I couldn't push him away or to tell him to stop. My body reacted the opposite of what I wanted to do, my face resting into his big calloused hands.

"Megatron," I said, feeling as if someone else was controlling my thoughts and body, "I am here." Those words escaped from my mouth naturally, "I have arrived." I was screaming inside of my head. Who is controlling me? How did she get inside of me?

This is a nightmare; I need to wake up.

"I have been waiting millennials to finally see you." Megatron whispered, brushing the strands of hairs away from my face.

"Yet, you do not fully have of me. I am trapped in this flesh." I could hear her say in disgust, "I am weak. I still do not have full control of her, either. You promised- "

"Things did not go according to plan, your grace." He explained, "This pest of an insect took what did not belong to here and there were a few casualties, thus the result of her body consuming the Dark Energon."

I can hear myself hiss in anger, "There is always something going wrong whenever I leave things under your care."

"I will fix this." He promised and somehow, she knew – we both knew that it was a lie. The voice in my head, however, wanted to trust him. I tried to get my body back, move my fingers, my toes anything.

"She is taking over. The human is fighting for her body back. I must leave." Darkness clouding my vision again, "Until then." Megatron voice echoed when I drifted into nothing. The scene changed completely, and I knew I was still dreaming because I found myself lying in an open field. The sun light making my skin gleam and my body felt cool in the field of sunflowers. I can hear bees buzzing, crickets singing, and birds chirping. I felt calm here. A figure covered the sunlight a shadow formed across my body, "Laura?" a small voice asked. I looked at the little girl, it was Annabelle. Her face smeared in dirt, her little red dress ripped, her curly blonde pig tails loosed and hanging low. Annabelle held her stuffed mermaid, the tail touching the ground. Her doll was also covered in dirt, few scales missing, and its red hair covered with debris. Annabelle looked like she just got into a fight with another kid by how she looked, her knees and elbows skinned.

I sat up, "Hey, are you okay?" Her little round blue eyes filled with tears. She took a step forward, jumping into my laps her arms wrapping around my neck, "Daddy is gone." She sobbed into the crook of my neck.

I furrowed my brows, "What?" I pulled her back to look at her, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"The bad guys have him." She said, "Can you save him?" Her question echoed in my head as she started to disappear, "Save him, Laura. Save my daddy." Her sobs echoed.

Xxxx

I woke up feeling dazed taking me a few minutes to realized where I am. I sat up, pulling the blankets over and glanced at the digital clock across the room resting on my desk. It was eight thirty in the morning. I was surprised that I slept through the night, usually when I have a nightmare, I wake up right away. I was feeling groggy and a headache forming. Why does my eyes feel puffy, as if I cried? I walked over to my body mirror to look at myself; messy hair, crust around my eyes, my cheeks flushed as always. I wiped my eyes clean and stretched as I yawned. As I was stretching, I felt sore from my chest down to my ankles. A quick glance in the mirror and caught red marks around my ankles, what the hell? I crouched down and pulled the sleeves of my pants up touching the red marks around my ankles. They felt sore to the touch. I was remembering that this came from my nightmare, but, how? How can I get red marks in real life that only came from my nightmares?

There was a knock on my door, "Who is it?" I called out as I got up, unfolding the sleeve of my pants, "It's me, 'Bee." The familiar voice answered from the other side of the door. I haven't seen him for a week ever since Optimus sent him out on a mission along with Sideswipe and Arcee.

I opened the door and greeted my new friend, "Hey you." I let him in, made himself in my room and sat down at the corner of my bed, "You just woke up?" The scout asked.

I nodded, "Is it that obvious?" I smiled as I walked over to my dresser to pick an outfit, "You just got back?" I pulled out a pair of dark jeans then proceeded to another drawer to retrieve a white long sleeve shirt.

"Last night. I caught a Decepticon." He announced proudly. Just when he said Decepticons I froze, my hands clenching on the wooden drawer handle. A voice growled angrily, a voice coming from my head. "Well, Arcee shot him down but I caught him. I saw him first and tackled him after he was shot."

'_Who?' _The voice in my head asked angrily. It wasn't my voice, I shut my eyes and told her to shut up. I am hearing things; this is not real, and it is probably one of the side effects from the pills. I cleared my throat, "Oh yeah?" I closed the drawer and turned around. Bumblebee was excited as he was telling me about his triumph, "Yeah, it isn't the first time I catch Barricade but this time it wasn't so hard." It is as if he was expecting them…

"Oh, well, too bad for him I guess huh." I said nonchalantly as I walked towards my desk to grab my toiletries.

"If only he knew what he is in for." Bumblebee got up and balled up a fist to smack his other open palm. His hologram towered me; he had sandy brown hair, dimple on his chin and boyish look. Apart from that he was lean yet masculine, he tends to be shy, but he can also be really funny and fun to be around with. He looks a lot like Billy from _'Strangers Thing'_ but with shorter hair and minus the mustache. The Scout followed me to the bathroom and waited outside as I changed and washed up. Every time I would stretch, I would wince due to the soreness, I couldn't help but to see the scar around my abdomen where I was shot by one of the guys from the N.E.S.T. Team when they tried to aim for Megatron. Just thinking about him, I could hear his voice in my head, _"I have been waiting millennial to finally see you." _Who was he waiting for?

Whatever, it was just a nightmare. I shook my head and pulled my long sleeve over my head and pulled my hair up into a messy hair bun. I walked out to meet with my friend who was waiting patiently for me.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, I don't think much about food. Hell, I could even eat in the morning and not get hungry for the rest of the day but that is frown upon. I am kept in a diet just to keep up with me and how I am _evolving_.

"I could eat." I finally told him. I made a quick to my room to drop off my pajama and the rest of my belongings.

We took the elevator to go to the main floor. When the doors opened a soldier almost smacked into me if it was for 'Bee that pulled me away, "Careful." He glared at him. More men came out running with their guns in their arms, I narrowed my eyes as we watched them, "What is going on?" I asked.

Bumblebee and I followed them which ended up being at the main hangar. There were armed men and Autobots pointing their weapons at another Cybertronian that was being pinned down to the ground.

'_Barricade.' _ The voice noted. Optimus was in his alt-mode towering over everyone else as he glared down at our enemy. I noticed Lennox and Epps at the catwalk with their weapons pointing at Barricade.

"What's going on here?" I repeated but neither one of us knew.

"Is this how you treat your guests, Prime?" Barricade was being a smart ass.

"Shut up, punk. If you know what's good for you." Ironhide threatened, his cannon whirring already, "Come on, Prime. Just say the word and we can get this over with."

Optimus raised a giant finger up, "Let him speak." He ordered. Ironhide didn't like that and growled as his cannon transformed back to his arm, "That's right, listen to him like a little bitch." Barricade bullied. Ironhide pulled him up by his collard and hit him with the butt of his gun at the back of his head only to make the 'Con laugh.

The weapon specialist and the medic managed to sit Barricade up whom was still laughing. Optimus took a step forward, "I am going to ask you once more, Barricade. What were you doing at the Garcia's property?" My eyes widened when I heard my family last name. I looked up at 'Bee, "Did you know about this?" I whispered.

"We found traces of Decepticons in the area, but we did not know who it was." He answered back, I glared at him, "Why didn't you tell me?" Why did no one tell me this?

"Who says it was me?" Barricaded grinned. Ironhide arm transforming back to his cannon, "Just say the word boss."

Optimus pushed him back, indicating for him to calm down, "We tracked your heat radiation. It was not that hard to find you." Ratchet explained, "What were you doing there?" Barricade eyes scanned around the room, as if he was looking for something until he spotted me.

"Her." He pointed out. Everyone looked at what he was pointing to see what he was talking about, "Laura?" Optimus asked.

"You shouldn't be here." Chromia snapped, walking towards our way. I walked forward before 'Bee had the chance to hold me back. Chromia tried to block my way but I just dodged her big robotic hands and walked between her legs.

My eyes were locked on Barricades deep Maroon eyes, "If I find out that you hurt my family," two military men walked forward blocking my way. I glared at them, "Don't touch me."

Barricade forced a laugh, "What will you do? Kill me?"

"Laura, stand down." Optimus ordered. I can hear Bumblebee calling from behind me too. My hands balled up into a fist, "You don't know me." I snapped at Barricade.

"I know enough." The 'Con replied back, "Enough that they call you a _monster_." I flinched, "Tell me, did your so-called friends mentioned about the funeral that you parents held for you? Or your human best friend getting injured for trying to find you? Did they tell you that she got banned for stepping a foot around the premises?"

I looked up at Optimus, "Is this true?" Optimus didn't answer. Instead he looked at Barricade, "That is enough."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Come on." Bumblebee pulled me back. I looked at Lennox whom only glanced at me for a brief moment, looking guilty. He was trying to avoid eye contact which only meant that he knew about this. I can feel my body shaking in anger.

"So many hidden secrets in here, should I go on?" Barricade taunted with a smile. Ironhide hit him with his cannon knocking him out so he won't say anything else. Bumblebee grabbed me by the arm to pull me out.

I was angry. When we walked out of the hangar, I pushed his hand away, glaring at him, "Did you knew about this?" I snapped at the scout who only raised his hand up defensively, "I am just as surprised as you are."

'_Liar.' _The voice in my head stated. I looked into Bumblebee's optics to see any hint of lie but he just seemed innocent, "We knew that there were Decepticons in the area but not exactly were."

"What about Emma?" I asked.

"Who?"

"My best friend!" I shouted angrily. I wanted to punch something, I wanted to punch someone. My hands tingled my nose flared. I was going livid.

The scout placed his hand on my shoulder, "You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do." I slapped his hands away from me and walked away.

Xxxx

I was angry that I skipped breakfast and lunch. So angry that I avoided everyone today and spent the rest of the evening in the shooting room. I was practicing target and I couldn't help but to think about Barricade and the fact how close he was to my family. I felt useless that I wasn't there to protect them, useless that my best friend came looking for me, I felt hopeless just being in here doing nothing. I felt angry about finding all this out making me think about what else they are not telling me. I thought we all trusted each other but that seemed unlikely now.

I switched hand every time I finished a round of magazine. I was so focused on the target that I forgot where I was, who I was and where I was. For a good moment I forgot about everything until I saw a figure standing next to me. A red head with freckles and motherly smile pointed at her human ears, signaling to take off my headphones. I haven't Elita-1 in a while, well in front of me. Usually she is in meetings our out on missions.

"Hi." I breathed. Elita-1 was gorgeous, she had soft features, baby blue eyes, laughing lines around her lips, perfect glowing skin and soft hair. Unlike most femmes in the base she was very motherly and caring but when you get to meet her bad side you tend to regret to piss her off.

"I was looking for you, Laura. How are you?" She asked, her optics full of concern. Elita-1 placed a hand on my arm in comfort as she waited for my answer. I pushed up my safety glasses to the top of my head, pushing back any strand of hairs that invaded my sight, "I really don't know how to answer that question." I answered honestly. How am I? Tired, annoyed, angry, hopeless, agitated, upset, alone; the list goes on.

"Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?" The red head invited as she pointed at the shooting room exist. Elita-1 made me feel that I had no other option but to accept her invitation. I knew that if I said no she will pester until I give up and have a chat. Optimus probably told her about what happened earlier.

"Of course." I smiled. Elita-1 offered me her arm and I took it as we started to walk towards the cafeteria. The warrior greeted everyone that walked towards our direction, smiled at them or wave at them. The cafeteria was empty, the only ones that were around were the lunch ladies and the janitor cleaning up. We walked towards the 'café' station and Elita-1 reached for the brew pot and a small Styrofoam cup. She handed me one as she poured black coffee for me then for her. The familiar smell hit my nose reminding me of my mother when she would brew coffee before she would start to work.

"Sugar and cream?" Elita-1 offered as she grabbed the little condiments container with different sugar packets and creamer. I grabbed few sugar packets and three creamers, it's been a while since I had coffee, I usually prefer hot chocolate or tea.

We sat down at one of the empty round tables, sitting across from each other, "Tell me, how are you adjusting?" She asked as she poured sugar to her hot beverage with no creamer. How can she drink dark coffee like that? To me it would taste bitter without the creamer.

I shrugged my shoulder, "It's not home." I answered. Elita-1 didn't flinch or make any face to my response, she only nodded, "What is that saying from that popular movie, the uh," she closed her eyes, "The young femme that was tossed into another world- "

"There is no place like home." I said, "Yes!" The warrior clapped her hand, "There is no place like home. Until you make it into one." She smiled warmly before she took a sip of her coffee.

I wanted to argue with her to let her know that this isn't my home and I just can't simply _make it into one._ "Do you feel at home?" I asked her.

"I am at home wherever Optimus is." Elita-1 smiled fondly as she said the Leader's name, "Optimus and our team are my family. Including yourself, don't you ever forget that." Elita-1 placed her hand over mine in comfort, "What is bothering you, dear? I can see anger and sadness in your eyes."

I laughed nervously, "Is it that obvious?"

"You are just easy to read. Now to tell me." The femme waited patiently. What can I tell her? That I get glared or belittled? Out of place and kept in the dark? I opened my mouth, but nothing came out other than just a sigh. I pulled my hand away and placed it around my neck when I felt overwhelmed.

"Did you know about Barricade trespassing my parent's property or Emma looking for me?" I asked. Elita-1 shook her head no, "I was not informed until today. My mind did not want to believe her, but my half human heart did.

"I want to see my parents; I want to know that they are okay." Elita-1 frowned at my request, "I am afraid to tell you that you are not allowed near their property."

"Why not? I lived there; it is my home." My voice raised but when Elita-1 looked at me as she straightens up in her own seat making me shrink in mine.

"Were you not informed of the restraining order from your birth father?" She asked. I shook my head no, "He- he requested for a restraining order? On me?" My own father?

"It happened on the very day you escaped from Chromia." I couldn't believe what I was hearing; my very own blood banning me from home and no one, I mean _NO ONE _thought about telling me.

'_Because they do not care about you.' _The familiar voice echoed in my head. I closed my eyes for a brief second and tell that voice to shut up. I am a mistake; I was supposed to die and if it's true what Barricade mentioned earlier, I am just as good being buried six feet under because living – I feel like a zombie that has no purpose or intension to live.

"Do not let that discourage you, Laura. You still have a family here, people that you can count on." I narrowed my eyes at her, "How can I count on anyone here when no one tells me anything?"

"It takes time to build trust, Laura. Just how it took me a long time to trust humans." She confessed, "I was just like you when we arrive to Earth. I wanted to do nothing but leave however, our home is destroyed. This was my second chance to save someone else's home. Maybe this could be your second chance too." She pointed out.

I scoffed as I leaned into my seat, "Me save the world?" I shook my head, "Now that's the joke of the year. In case you haven't noticed; I am a lab rat. I mean, just look at me." I pointed at my eyes, "I am a monster."

This time the warrior shook her head in disappointment, "Never let the world tell you that you cannot have or do anything because of who you are or where you are from."

Elita-1 looked wise beyond her years yet she looked young; probably in her late thirties but in Cybertronian years she was probably older than that. _'Ha_, _what does she know?_' The voice snickered.

"Elita-1, Optimus is asking for you." A man announced by the entrance of the cafeteria. Elita-1 sighed as she stood up, "Thank you, Gill. I will be there shortly." Gill nodded then left.

"Before we depart, do you need anything?" Elita-1 asked, I bit my lower lip, "If it's not too much to ask, I want to go on patrols as well. I think that will help me stay busy than just being trapped inside the four walls."

The redhead nodded, "I will see what I can do, but do not keep your hopes up." She said as she walks away. I watched her leave as I stayed behind, alone. _'She pities you._' The voice commented. I shut my eyes tight and placed both hands at each side of my head, "Shut up." I whispered.

'_Face it, human. You have no one you are just a waste of flesh and bones.' _I clenched my jaw tight and breathed through my nose, "Get out of my head." I said through my gritted teeth. The voice only laughed at me.

Xxxxxx

No one's P.O.V

It was late at night which meant that everyone was either asleep, patrolling or training. Everything was running smoothly except for one person; Laura. She has been having intense nightmares and the voice in her head never leaving her alone causing for her to second guess just about anything. Tonight, though, was different from any other night. Laura was up around past two in the morning, but it was not her per say, it was someone else controlling her from the inside while being unconscious. Laura was sleep walking down the hall making her way to one specific place; the brig. No one looked at her twice when she passed a few rooms or the main hangar as no one said anything when she walked down the stairs to the brig like a ghost.

Laura walked down the dark hall reaching for a specific cell. She faced the 'Con, her fingers wrapping around the iron bars watching him recharging uncomfortably.

"You were always a useless piece of scrap metal." Laura commented as she spat to the side, a sign of disrespect for an enemy inside of her own team. Barricade slowly opened his optics his vision adjusting when he saw a small dark figure behind his cells, "Came back for more insults, fleshling?"

"Is that how you speak to your Goddess?" Laura glared at Barricade which only made him laugh, "Pathetic."

Laura walked towards the door to enter inside the cell with him. She waved her hand over the lock to open it without a key, this time Barricade sat up straight, "You dare to speak that way to me?" Her voice held full of hanger, "Or should I remind you what I am capable of?" Laura raised a finger up, her eyes locking his as she started to talk in a foreign language.

"It can't be." Barricade mouthed.

"Tell me, Barricade, where is Megatron?" She asked as the 'con's optics dimmed; Laura finally able to get inside his head.

XXXXXXXX

Dun-dun-duuunnnnn lol

So, who do you think it is?

Please read and review! If I can get at least two more reviews I will post the next chapter real soon!


	5. Chapter 5: Mission Part One

Hello peeps!

HAPPY MUUHHHFFFUKKINN NEW YEARS! Any new years resolutions? I have a few one of them is keeping yall updated :p

I know I have been gone for awhile and I have no excuses for it; other than I am a mom of two tots and a wife so you know that comes with responsibilities! However, I have not stop thinking about our little Laura so I got a lot of plots/plan/ideas coming in.

Anyways, thank you all for the reviews, follows, favorites and such it really encourages me to keep on writing even though I am not the greatest, but it is my passion. Wanna know how I joined this website? Maybe I shall tell ya my story about my life at the end of this story, what yall think? Let me know!

Also, I will be responding reviews/comments on each chapter, so feel free to review! What yall like/dislike, if it feels slow or moving too fast, need more details, grammar errors, lame story, cool or an eh story. ANYTHING!

FluffyPrime: yesss, laura may have something going on which shook barricade to the core 😉

XXXXX

Chapter five: Mission part One.

_"Have you seen her dressed in blue? See the sky in front of you and her face is like a sail speck of white so fair and pale have you seen a lady fairer?" -She's a rainbow; The Rolling Stones_

I can feel fear building up yet again which led me to thrashing around under this familiar iron grip as he spoke dangerously lowly in my ear, "This is excellent. I waited for this very moment to see the fear trapped in your optics whenever you saw me. I wanted to see you struggle under my tight grip. I want to take your breath away just like the very first time back when you were a human. However, this is different, of course, because this time I will make sure you will end up dead."

The smile graved into his features was menacing and coincidentally chilling as his grip increased tighter and partially lifted me off the ground. I was struggling to keep on my tiptoes in contact with the ground but when he noticed, he let out a loud and cruel laugh before lifting me even higher. I kept clawing at his fingers to try and let at least a tiny amount of the snatched air back into my lungs but I knew that as soon I get that release my instincts would kick in to just close my optics and let death drift me away.

Am I weak to choose death every time I have this occurring nightmare just so I could wake up?

I did not want to be a coward under his grip. Not yet and I did not want to die; it is not my time.

Not yet.

I felt that my head wanted to explode from the profound pressure and cut off oxygen supply. If it's agonizing now, what would it be like later? Would I go to hell? Is there such thing as heaven?

_I'm just dreaming. _I reminded myself. _Wake up._

Xxx

I heard a deep rumble of vehicles as the Autobots and the military pulled back in. I was called to meet at the main hangar among with few other people for some reason, I wasn't given enough information other than 'Optimus requested for you.' And 'Meet at the hangar at 0800 hours sharp.' Didn't tell me if in the morning or at night so I only assumed it was within a few hours from then. The hangar was soon flooded with soldiers and medics. I leaned against the catwalk railing looking down as I watched them looking for no one in specific. I smiled to myself when I saw the Autobots walk through people carefully avoiding hurting anyone in their path.

"Hello, human." A familiar voice greeted as I watched the great leader transformed into his altmode, listening to exhausts releasing airs and metals connecting as he transformed. His head was at the railing level, his glowing electric blue eyes illuminating where I was standing, "Hello."

I heard Lennox voice calling out names and when he called out mine, he sounded confused. Optimus offered his hand to lower me down to the ground instead of taking the catwalk stairs. I gladly took his offer and sat at the palm of his robotic hands holding on to his thumb fearing that I would fall. I felt like if I were on a roller coaster ride but instead, the leader moved carefully as his hand connected to the ground and I jumped off. I looked around the wide room filled with various vehicles in one corner and some stacks of files plus a big white board covered with pictures, locations with Lennox standing in the middle. I noticed Lennox's friend, Epp looking at me skeptically before he stood next to his friend.

"Whaddup, Laura?" He greeted as he placed his hands behind his back, "Wassup?" I answered. I haven't seen these two for a couple days. Well, to be honest, I haven't seen them since Barricade was captured and held hostage at the brig.

"Alright, listen up." Lennox called out. Bumblebee, Chromia and Arcee, Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide stood in the background. We all waited for whatever the Lieutenant was going to announce, "Tonight we have a new target. We came to find out where Megatron is keeping these dark energon shards. It seems that the three shards that were lost weren't the only ones out there. There's more." The Lieutenant looked at each and every one of us, making sure we are processing this new information he was announcing. I started to wonder what this has to do with me.

"Who's our target?" A man with an Australian accent asked from behind me. Lennox raised a finger up and pointed at the board specifically at a picture at the center of the said white board, "Shockwave and Scorponok." Even though I was far from the board, I could see the picture clearly. It was a black and white picture that was taken without them being aware. I held my breath when I recognized one of the Decepticons; the familiar driller that wrapped itself around my body reminding me the soreness feeling I had the day after I woke up. Shockwave had one big red, glowing optic at the center of its face and horns at the side of its head. He looked emotionless along with his companion next to him, Scorponok who coincidently look a lot like a scorpion.

"These two are guarding Dark Energon and our mission for tonight is not to take them out but to investigate what are they doing with those crystals."

"With that being said," This time Epps took over, "Remain low and shoot only when necessary. I will assign groups of three as well starting with Bumblebee, Chromia and Arcee. You guys will patrol the perimeter. Ironhide, Lennox, Laura and I will go inside the cave while Optimus and Ratchet stay behind for backup." This was my first mission.

"The rest of you will go on your normal patrol. Report any suspicious activity with Elita-1 per usual." Lennox reminded. There were a few groan and Lennox glared at them.

"Of course, they would choose the new freak." I heard someone comment loud enough for me to hear. I frowned.

"I'm sorry, you got something to say punk?" I heard Ironhide angry voice as he death glared at one of the soldier who only shook, "N-no sir."

Lennox walked towards me, "Listen, you don't have to do this if you are not ready." The Lieutenant pulled me aside away from everyone probably to see if I would back out. I shook my head no, "I'm ready." I told him as he looked at me; looking for some sort of sign to keep me in base.

To be honest, I was actually excited to finally be out of base tonight and go on a mission. Elita-1 kept her word and I need to thank her for it. "Come on, follow me then." I followed Lennox towards a table that had weapons laid out. He grabbed a bullet proof vest and handed it to me, "Put this on." He instructed. I noticed that he didn't have a vest of his own, "You're not going to put one on?" I asked as I followed him towards the end of the table. I noticed a cocky smile forming at the corner of his lips while he grabbed a rifle from the table and hand it to me, "I'll be fine."

Epps, Lennox and I rode inside of Ironhide cabin. I sat at the back-passenger seat, Epps sat in front and Lennox took over the driver seat but wasn't really driving. I minded my business, staring outside the windows watching the moon following us and listening to Epps bickering.

"Don't you have anything good to listen to?" The Sargent asked as he scrolled through Lennox's phone. Lennox leaned over to retrieve his device, but Epps pulled away from him, "I have a lot of songs and you can't find one that you like?"

"You and I have different tastes, bro." Epps stated as he scoffed, "Really? Old Town Road?"

"That's Annabelle favorite song." Lennox explained half embarrassingly, but I could tell that he was lying.

"That is a lie." Ironhide called him out. I couldn't help but to laugh.

Epps knocked on the dashboard just enough to get the real driver's attention, "What about you 'Hide? Got any good jams?"

The old weapon specialist grumbled. He wasn't in the mood to be ferrying with these two soldiers but also, was he really going to pass up this opportunity to call out his human friend? Hell no. This was way better than watching Ratchet wrath whenever any one of us skips his appointments. Obviously, we weren't going to stop at any moment, which is just a reminder how bad we needed a road activity to pass the time.

"Sorry, but my music would not be up to your taste either," Ironhide said. I wonder what type of music he is into. He seemed like the type to listen to rock maybe even country. Why do I feel like I am insulting him just by assuming this?

"Damn," Epps sighed and went back to scrolling, "What about you, Laura?" Both sets of eyes were on me this time. I shrugged, "I don't think you guys will like what I listen to." I pointed out. I listen to a variety of music I don't really have a specific genre that I like. I guess it depends on my mood.

"How about you choose a song?" Lennox took the phone away from Epps hands and tossed it to me. Lennox had a black iPhone, he had various apps in the background but what caught my attention was the home screen wallpaper which was a picture of Annabelle when she was few months old. I couldn't help but to admire how adorable she was and still is. I went to press the YouTube app and thought about what song to listen too; something that isn't too depressing or too much cussing. Something that would pump us up for this mission. I really didn't know what to choose, instead I picked the most popular song that was trending; My oh My by Camila Cabello Ft. DaBaby.

I handed the phone back to Lennox as I jammed to the song, singing a long quietly to myself. It wasn't really my favorite song, but it was catchy.

From the rearview mirror I could see Epps smirking at my choice of song, both men sitting back and letting the music drift through the old soldier's speakers.

"I swear on my life that I've been a good girl/" I sang, "Tonight I don't want to be her/ they say he likes a good time/ (my oh my)/ he comes alive at midnight/ (every night) my momma doesn't trust him/ (my oh my)/ he's only here for one thing/ (so am I)" I knew that they were watching me through the rearview mirror but I minded my business and sang to myself. After the song ended, Epps grabbed Lennox phone again and scrolled through the playlist again. I couldn't help but to look behind and saw from afar Optimus and Ratchet following us just as they said that they would but keeping their distance.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked out loud, "You didn't fully go into details about this mission." I wiggled with my finger. From the corner of my eyes I thought I saw something moving in the dark but only brushed it off assuming that it was trees.

"We are heading to a canyon which is just a mile up ahead. There is a land there where Decepticons are hiding crystals and possibly experimenting." Lennox said, I raised an eyebrow as I sat up scooting to sit in the middle of the back-passenger seat, "Experimenting?"

This time Epps nodded as he handed me a black tablet to show me a video that was taken by a drone. I played the video which had night vision; on the said video I saw nothing other than a dumping site with what seems like some sort of glowing goo coming out from…Cybertronians?

"Are those Decepticons?" I asked as I pointed at the deceased Cybertronians, "We don't know yet." Lennox answered. The drone zoomed in where Shockwave was standing at the edge of a canyon looking down and its Pet Driller slithering around the dumping site.

"We are here." Ironhide announced as he pulled beside the road. He turned the engine off to avoid attention. We got out of his cabin and adjusted my bullet vest and my weapon next to me. I felt nervous because I wasn't sure what to expect tonight. What if I see Megatron? Is he going to be here too? I walked in front of Ironhide to meet up with the guys. Lennox pulled out a map and rested on top of the GMP Topkick hood placing the tablet and his phone at each side of the map, so it won't scroll back.

"Alright, this is where we are," The Lieutenant pressed his forefinger at the left corner of the map, "And we need to get to here." He pointed at the center of the map which was the cave he mentioned back at the base, "There are monitors in there and as far as we know, there's only two of our enemies in here and they are mostly out at the dumping site." I had a bad gut feeling about this mission.

"We need to go to the monitor room and download any valuable information that we can get with these chips." Epps pulled out three chips from his vest pockets and passed out one to us.

"That' all we are doing for tonight. Retrieve and retreat, got it?" Lennox only looked at me, why do I feel like he wasn't trusting me? I only nodded, "Loud and clear." I answered.

"Alright, Ironhide." Epps patted the hood, "Let's roll."

It was nighttime and the only light we had was the full moon that shined down at us, "Stay alert and stay on our asses." Lennox looked back at me as both men walked in front of me.

Ironhide transformed into his altmode and stayed few feet behind us with his cannon already charging. We were greeted by a cold chill as soon as we walked inside the cave, there were no lights whatsoever.

"Area is clear." Ironhide called from behind before we were fully inside. Lennox and Epps pulled up their weapons pointing in front of them and turned on the flashlights that were connected at top of their rifles. I can feel the hairs on my arms standing up, getting goosebumps every time, we were getting deeper inside the cave.

"We are in, Big Boss." Epps announced through his Bluetooth that he had connected on his ear. This place was looking familiar. I felt like I was having De ja vu when I saw the random hole on the wall and the water dripping echoing inside the cave. We were walking down the dark hallway and all we could hear were cables snapping and sparks flying everywhere whenever we pas by an empty room.

_I've been here before…_

The atmosphere was cold, really cold and just like Lennox said; there was no one around here. We heard odd noises and moaning coming from somewhere. We walked slowly pointing our guns at every empty room and at every corner just as precaution. It's dangerous in here, this was no place to be at alone for a human. I can hear our footsteps echoing and the little splash whenever we step on water. My eyes adjusted in the dark helping me see clearly.

_'Laura…' _That familiar voice whispered my name. I automatically turned my head around to where I thought I heard my name but there was no one in sight. We turned to another empty hall where we saw a wall smashed and hole in the center with cables hanging over. Through the hole you can see chairs that were thrown across the room, wet papers sprawled around, empty weapons lying on the floor. This cave used to be a secret base from the government and somehow these Decepticons managed to take over. I still couldn't shake off the feeling that I have been here. When have I been here?

We walked inside the destroyed room. I immediately froze when I realized where we were; we just walked in straight into my nightmare. I lowered my weapon down when we walked in, seeing the familiar security TV's installed adjacent of the room all lined up. Few of them were turned off but there were at least two that were going static.

"Over here." Epps called out from a near by desk that had computers. I felt Lennox beside me pulling me by arm gently. Epps stood by a random computer monitor and pressed on the keyboard to see if they would turn on.

"Great, they're fucked." He commented angrily. I looked behind the desk and the cables where damaged, "Hold on, I think I can fix it." I said.

"How?" Lennox raised an eyebrow at me as he scratched the base of his neck. I grinned as I walked behind the desks and grabbed the damaged cables.

"Woah there, girl you're gonna electrocute yourself." Epps warned and I only rolled my eyes, "It's like you guys forgot what I am capable of." I commented. I took in a deep breath and tried to relax as I held the cables with each hand then exhaled as I closed my eyes and felt the power surge through my veins and the cables. I can hear the monitors turning on as I recharged, "You guys download. If I move the monitors will turn off."

"Now that's bad shit crazy." Epps commented.

"This is wicked." Lennox seemed amused. I smiled at him while they download the files into the chips. From across of me there were tall shattered window that faced the dump site where I could see Cybertronians bodies were resting lifelessly. Even though we were far from the dump site I could hear them moaning from up here. Few Cybertronians bodies were dismembered, eyes glowing in the color of purple, purple energon pouring out from their mouths. I swear that I saw an upper body crawling, pulling itself around as it moaned. These Cybertronians weren't alive they were like zombies and by the looks of it they were more likely test subjects for Dark Energon.

This was sick.

"Almost done." Lennox announced.

From the corner of my eyes I saw a dark movement in the room.

"Epps, it's Chromia. Do you copy?" I heard the Autobot speak through the Bluetooth, "You need to…now. Copy."

Epps furrowed his eyebrows, "What? You're breaking up."

"There's….you…now…" She was cutting off. My ears perked when I heard a swift movement from behind me, "Get down!" Lennox shouted as he pointed his gun behind me and firing. I dropped the cables and turned around and met face to face with none other than the Driller. The Decepticon pet pulled back as its sharp hole of a mouth aim at me. I jumped to the side to avoid casualties and watched the guys firing uselessly at it. Their weapons were no good for a Decepticon like this one, this is where I was useful. The Driller tried to aim at me again but I only jumped to the side again looking for my friends, "Get out!" I shouted at them.

"Laura…" a robotic voice called out my name. I turned around and saw the one eyed Decepticon aiming his Cannon at me, blue energetic light warming up as he fired. The whole wave caused for me to fly backwards through the windows and falling down. The shot was powerful enough but somehow it did not kill me. I landed hard on my back onto the cold muddy ground. I wince in pain when the moment I hit something hard on the ground and something wrapping around me. I looked open my eyes and saw a dead Cybertronian with glowing purple optics moaning at me as it wrapped its arms around my neck. Another Cybertronian came grabbing on my leg as more came, "Get off me!" I panicked as I tried to kick them off.

"I'm coming, Laura!" I heard the Big Boss voice shout and fire at the dead beings around me. I tried to reach for my rifle that was only few inches away from me. I felt like I was being entangled by vines but instead it was the Dead trying to kill me.

I felt a heavy weight when a Cybertronian got on top of me pressing its heavy weight on me, "Help me." It cried, its dark purple optics piercing through mine as its hands wrapped themselves around my neck. I pushed my hands against its chest trying to get it off me, dark energon drooling off of its mouth and landing on my face. I couldn't bare to look at it's optics, it's torture look it had, "Please…" It begged. I coughed for air my hands crawled towards it neck and manage to pull on the tendons and snap it in half hearing it powered down and landing beside me. I gasped for air as I turned around my forehead pressing on the ground to catch my breathing until something wrapped itself around my leg and dragged me.

This time it was someone else, another Decepticon dragging me using his tentacle-like around my ankles. I tried to grab onto something but there was nothing to grab on and soon enough the Decepticon had my body wrapped with his metal like hand tightening its grip around my neck. I was getting tired of being treated like this.

"Laura…we were expecting you." His voice was low and hoarse; it was Soundwave.

"Let me go." I coughed as I squirmed in his grip, "Or what?" He taunted. I only smiled when I saw Optimus creeping up from behind with his gun pointing at Soundwave.

"Soundwave, release her at once." Optimus demanded. Soundwave turned around his other arm turning into a blaster aiming at the Leader, "Oh you dumb fuck, you're gonna regret that." I shouted and someone else shot at him without realizing I was in the hands of the villain. I was falling down yet again until someone else caught me covering me with its hands.

"I got you." The scout assured as he got us out from the dump site. Bumblebee made sure we were in the clear before he let me down to the ground. I had a high rush that when 'Bee let me down the high was coming down and I dropped onto my knees and inhaled fresh air.

"Laura!" Lennox shouted my name as dropped his gun and crouched down in front of me cupping my face in hands, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" His eyes scanning my face but I only pushed him away, "I'm fine."

"How the hell are you fine when you fell ten feet to the ground?" Epps exclaimed. I laughed, I let out a laugh. I laughed because I was scared shitless and hurt.

"I think she's broken." 'Bee commented as he pocked me with his robotic finger.

"What's so funny?" Lennox asked as he didn't find any humor in this. Have you ever laughed so hard that you started to cry? I have, right now.

"I should have not survived that fall," I cried-laughed, "Yet here I am, being tossed like a rag doll."

The Sargant hissed, "This girl is having a full-on panic attack." He ran his hand through his bald head as he walked away, "Women, laughing at the wrong time. Who gets them?"

"Here, get up." Lennox offered me his hand and pulled me up. I almost fell down again when my knees were feeling weak, but Lennox caught me by my elbows and helped me stand straight to regain my balance, "Can you walk?"

"I'm fine." I answered only to see him shake his head no, "You're not fine. No one in this team is fine." I rolled my eyes, "Fine, I'm okay. You can let me go." He seemed hesitant for me a moment then let go of me.

Right now, Lennox was being over-protective and annoying for no reason, "Are you sure?"

"Jesus Christ, William, I am going to shock you." I snapped at him.

He stopped walking and looked at me dead in the eye, "Can you do that?"

Xx

Back at the base I was instructed to get checked out with Ratchet to rule out any injuries. I tried to convince Optimus that I was fine, but he claimed that it was protocol, mind you that it was none other than Lennox whispering his ear to have me checked out. Thankfully I didn't have any major injuries just few minor bruises from the fall and soreness that would probably last for weeks.

Afterward the unnecessary probing, I walked back to the main hangar where Lennox, Epps and Optimus were debriefing over today's mission. Optimus had his holoform activated, he stood tall from both men, pitch black curly hair wearing a flannel with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His steel blue optics looked up when I entered the room, "Laura." He greeted.

"I'm just stopping by to drop off this vest." I pointed with my head at the useless thing. I didn't mean to interrupt their little meeting, so I hurried up to take off the bullet proof vest and placed it on the table where it belonged. I didn't realize how heavy it felt until I took it off. This thing weighed about five or six pounds but having it on for a long for few hours was tiring. I let out a low sigh of relief as soon as I took it off.

Before I walked away, Optimus called me, "Laura, you did good on your first mission." Did I though? I felt that I didn't do enough that it was pointless for me to go. I smiled softly, "Thank you." And walked away.

I took the same route as I do every time I was at the main hangar and walked towards the elevator. Tonight felt like it was a great accomplishment but also if I am being honest a little terrifying. I still don't know what I am capable of other than taking a huge hit from twenty feet tall Cybertronian. I couldn't help but to think about the dead Cybertronian begging for help even though it was hurting me. The look in its eyes filled with pain even though it was not alive, is it still possible to feel pain even after death?

Yeah.

Today's mission probably going to hunt me for the rest of my life.

I walked inside the elevator and pressed the close button, "Wait!" someone called out as he placed hand between the elevator door preventing to close it. It was Lennox.

"You're getting on the elevator or?" That was probably the dumbest question I could ever ask even though he was standing in between the exit, "Are you busy?" My heart skipped a beat when he asked that question. I almost choked on my own saliva, my eyes widening at his question, "Why…?"

He rolled his eyes at me, "Why are you always answering my questions with a question?" I couldn't help but to laugh, "Old habit," I answered sheepishly as I rubbed my arm. "Do you need something?"

"You wanna get dinner?" he asked, "With me?" giving off his famous boyish smile.

Oh, you bastard.

Who in their right mind invite someone to eat dinner after a mission? A soldier, that's who.

Xx

Hey guys, I know this chapter is short but I just wanted to post something just to keep yall updated (This does not make any sense, hehe)

Anyways, I hope yall like this story so far.


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